


Unstoppable

by wewerkak



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, BAMF Danny "Danno" Williams, Bromance, Coma, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt Danny "Danno" Williams, Hurt Steve McGarrett, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Memory Loss, Near Death, Uncle Steve McGarrett, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 52,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26323417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wewerkak/pseuds/wewerkak
Summary: If Danny had known what he was going to come home to, he never would have left at that moment... Danny is having an amazing night out, the perfect date. The kids are at home with their uncle Steve, so there is no need to be worried about them. Nothing bad can happen, right? - WRONG!
Comments: 18
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt I've found on Pinterest.  
> Set in season 9.  
> English is not my native language, so please forgive me for the mistakes.

"You are sitting at my house, buddy. What do you think is going to happen? Knowing you, you might want to come up with an idea to teach my kids how to throw a grenade or something." Danny leveled Steve with a baleful look before checking the safety of his weapon.

"I'll not have anything happen under my watch, Danny," Steve said for the third time that evening, rolling his eyes as he watched Danny tuck away his gun and put it out of Charlie's reach. "It starts to look like you're just looking for an excuse to stay."

"An excuse?" Danny snorted. "That's ridiculous, Steven. I'm not looking for an excuse. Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, maybe because it's been a while since you've been on a date," Steve said. "You go and enjoy it. We'll be fine."

Danny smiled easily. "I know. I'll be back early."

"Just go!" Steve ordered, shaking his head. "Don't you dare to come early. Gracie is a grown-up girl now and Charlie will probably sleep most of the evening. How long had it been since you two been out? I can sleep on the couch if it gets too late."

"Go, Danno." Charlie's voice sounded from the doorway behind them. "I wanna stay with uncle Steve. He lets me stay up late."

Steve's lips curled upward with Charlie's comment. He crossed his arms over his chest as he met Danny's stare.

"That's great." Danny frowned. "When did you replace me? I used to be the one adored and loved by my kids."

"They still love you. I just get to be a fun uncle, unlike you, buddy." Steve smirked, obviously enjoying Danny's inner fight to argue with him in front of his son.

Danny took a calming breath and shifted his gaze to Charlie. "No staying up late, is that clear? Your sister will make sure of it if Steve doesn't."

"Are you talking about me?" Grace showed up behind Charlie's back.

"Yes, monkey. Make sure Charlie is in his bed by nine at most. And take care of your brother and uncle. Make sure this animal stays put and behaves." He pointed his finger at Steve.

Grace giggled. "I will."

Danny strolled toward his kids and picked Charlie up, settling him on his hip. He was getting too big for him to do this, but he just didn't want to give it up. "All right," he mumbled into Charlie's ear. "You be good for uncle Steve."

"Yes, he replied, his eyes serious as he stared into Danny's.

He snuggled his son, kissing him on the top of his head and put him back to the ground, then leaned to brush over a kiss to Grace's forehead. "I love you both," he said as she hugged him around his waist. He would always think of her as his baby girl, even after she was long grown.

"I'll see you in the morning, all right?" Danny said and pulled away.

"Okay, Danno. I love you."

"I love you too, Danno" Charlie repeated after his older sister, flashing a huge grin at his father.

If Danny had known what he was going to come home to, he never would have left at that moment.

* * *

As Steve predicted, Charlie hadn't lasted more than two hours after his father left for his evening out. After the last lap of the pretended race in Charlie's room, Steve watched him fall asleep before leaving downstairs.

Grace had been watching a movie in the living room when he arrived.

"Is Charlie asleep?" she asked, shifting herself to the side to make some room for Steve.

He nodded. "Yeah, all the driving made him tired I guess."

She smiled and locked her gaze back on the screen.

"What are we watching?"

"The newest Wonder Woman," Grace replied without looking away from the screen. "But it's almost over now. You missed most of the movie."

"Oh, did I?" Steve tried to sound disappointed, but in reality, he wasn't a fan of that movie anyway. But he sat there in silence, just enjoying Grace's company until the movie was over.

"I want to be like her." Grace turned her head to the side, staring at him.

Steve grinned at her. "You want to be like a Wonder Woman?"

"Not a superhero, obviously," she giggled. "But she is a really strong woman. And she is fighting the bad guys to make the world a better place, just like Danno and you. I want to do that too."

Steve's heart cracked at her words. There was no doubt she was his partner's daughter. "Don't tell that to your father, Gracie. He'd probably blame me for letting you watch that."

"Why?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Steve smiled at her, meeting her gaze. He remembered his father telling him to become anything else but a cop like it was yesterday. He too wanted to be just like his father, who was always a hero, a role model to him.

"Well, Danno would sleep better if you said you wanted to be… I don't know - anything else as long as it's safe." And if he was honest with himself - so would he.

She opened her mouth to protest, but the sound of his phone ringing stopped her before she had a chance to say anything.

Steve glanced at the screen to check the caller ID and rolled his eyes before answering the call.

"I thought I've told you to have fun, Danny. That doesn't include calling me or texting me during your date."

"No, no. Surprisingly, I'm having great fun. But, uh… I just wanted to check everything is all right."

"Yes, we're all good."

Grace giggled at her father's concern. "We're fine, Danno," she said loud enough for Danny to hear her.

"Charlie's asleep and I think we're about to join him," Steve added as he watched Grace yawn.

"Okay. Good," Danny replied, satisfied with the answer. "So you don't mind if I stay a bit longer then?"

"What did I tell you, huh? Just stay how long you want to. I'm glad you're having fun, buddy."

"I just wanted to make sure."

Steve released a sigh. "What are you doing? Stop talking to me and enjoy the rest of the evening. I'm hanging up now, Danny. Bye." He ended the call before his friend had a chance to protest.

"I think I'll go to bed," Grace announced as she stood up.

"That's a good idea," Steve agreed.

"I'll bring you a pillow and a blanket," she said and turned on her heel, running upstairs.

It didn't take long before she returned, leaving it at the couch, smiling at him. "We'll finish our conversation in the morning," she said.

Of course she wouldn't let it go. He hadn't either when at her age. "Good night, Gracie."

"Good night, uncle Steve."

Steve watched her walk up the stairway and disappear behind the doorway. God, she was growing up fast. Gone was the little girl he'd known years ago.

He checked the locks and windows, then double-checked alarm was set before he headed back to the couch and turned the TV off.

Charlie wasn't the only one who was tired. He had a pretty difficult week at work, and the past few weeks he hadn't been feeling great. He made a mental note to make an appointment with his doctor, despite hating that. He'd made sure as hell Danny didn't find out though, as it would worry him sick. That was the last thing he'd wanted for his best friend. Especially now, when he appeared to be his happier self lately.

He wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep, thoughts of making his way to the couch the last thing he'd remembered. But a loud crash upstairs had him up and sprinting for the stairs in an instant. He'd thought that maybe Charlie had fallen out of bed or tripped over on the way to the bathroom. But that thought was soon dismissed when more crashes and Charlie's muffled screaming reached his ears.

Something was very wrong.

And then he saw them.

Steve didn't have time to think, he only reacted, throwing himself at the first man he set eyes on. They both landed on the floor in a heap. The guy beneath him struggled but had no chance to stop the blow coming at his head, dazing him. Another hit knocked the man unconscious in a second.

He quickly looked around. He counted seven more men. Way too many.

Without a second thought, he sprang forward, going for the one tugging at Charlie's arm, trying his best to ignore the boy's heartbreaking scream of fear.

The force of his body smashing the guy against the wall made his hand slip away from Charlie's arm. In a split second it took to check on Charlie, the man spun around and crashed his elbow into Steve's temple, sending his head into a spin, then brought his knee up to Steve's stomach, making him hunch over in pain.

"Uncle Steve!" Charlie cried out, pure dread in his voice.

Using Charlie's tears as a fuel for his rage, Steve tried to eek every bit of energy and dodged the next blow aimed at his head. He pushed his body to move faster with everything he had. He delivered an elbow to the guy's chest then swiveled and used his leg to swipe the man off his feet. The guy landed on the ground with a thump and his head smashed against the wall behind him. His knee crashed into the man's groin. The man exhaled and bent down, and Steve delivered another blow to the back of his neck, hitting the pressure point of nerves to send the guy to the floor.

"Uncle Steve!" Charlie shouted again, tears rolling down his face as he looked up at Steve.

"Run, Charlie!" Steve yelled. "Hide and don't come out no matter what you hear, all right? Do not come out. Go. Now!"

Charlie gave him one more quick glance, then obeyed and rushed away, disappearing behind the corner.

"What's going on?" Grace showed up in the doorway of her room, the look of terror in her eyes when she took in the scene tearing Steve's heart apart.

The attention of the men turned toward Grace, with the one closest rushing into her room.

"Grace!" Steve screamed, stepping over the unconscious man's body as he rushed toward the next man, tackling him. He blocked the blow coming at him and spun around, wrapping his arm around the man's neck. The arms of the man came at him as he tightened his grip, his attempts to free himself becoming more and more futile every second, until he stopped squirming. Steve left the dead weight crumple to the floor.

There should be five more men around. But he didn't see all of them. Crashing coming from downstairs suggested they've been turning the house upside down, probably looking for Charlie.

He heard Grace struggling, screaming through what might have been someone's hand, but he couldn't see her. "Grace!" he called out again.

Someone behind him shouted, as though in pain Steve hadn't caused. He turned around to see one of the men holding onto his groin and Grace rushing down the hall.

_That's my girl._

With Grace running free from her room, Steve could focus on keeping the rest of the men away from her. She was smart, she would call Danny if she had time. Steve just had to keep the attackers away for long enough to give her time.

Starting with the guy who'd chased her out of her room. Steve rushed down the hall, barrelling himself and the man into the wall, among the falling picture frames. The glass shattered around them, the family photos scattering on the floor, as Steve landed punches, one by one, dodging the opponent's ones. He thrust his hand into the man's neck and prepared to deliver a killer blow. There were still four men after the kids, there was no time to -

The familiar sound of a gunshot came out of nowhere, startling Steve into a full stop. That sound didn't belong in this house. Never in this house.

Steve looked around frantically, pure dread seeping into his very being as he searched to make sure Grace and Charlie were all right. But he couldn't see either of them.

There was, however, one of their attackers standing at the top of the staircase with a satisfied grin on his face and a gun outstretched in his hand.

Then the realization hit him as the man Steve'd been holding kicked out his legs, sending his knees crashing onto the hard floor with ease. Steve's gaze locked with the man holding the gun as the guy readjusted his aim and fired again.

Stabbing pain erupted in his chest and back, fire burning him from inside, spreading through his body as the blood soaked into his t-shirt, oozing outward. Steve struggled to draw air into his aching lungs, desperately trying to hold himself up on his knees and hands as he felt the strength draining out of him too quickly for his liking.

Grace and Charlie still needed him. He couldn't give in. Where were they? Were they safe? What if-

No. He pushed that thought into the back of his skull. These guys went through all the trouble to get them alive, they wouldn't kill them.

And then he caught a glimpse of Grace, peeking from behind the door of Danny's bedroom, shaking, tears rolling down her cheeks, her wide eyes locked on his. She'd seen all that. She should have never seen it.

It wasn't over. He needed to move. He needed to get up. To protect her and her little brother. He'd fight until the end.

But his body didn't cooperate and instead of getting up, Steve found himself collapsing face down on the floor, white-hot agony raging in his chest. The sudden weakness and exhaustion frightened him to the core. He knew he was done fighting.

He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping for the agonizing sensation to pass, but it didn't. The pain was immense, every single breath a struggle. But he had to do something. He just had to. It was Grace and Charlie. He'd rather die than let anything happen to his best friend's kids. He had to keep going. He had to-

Steve heard shuffling behind him as the man who'd shot him came closer. An arm reached out to Steve to pull him onto his back. Steve forced his eyes open and channeled as much energy as he could into his aching muscles, barely noticing the growing puddle of warm blood on the floor under him. He swung around, his hand hurtling for the attacker's face.

The move was born out of desperation as much as anything. Steve was already seriously injured, and there was little skill in what he was trying. He paid the price. The man flung his forearm, blocking Steve's attempt with ease. Still hunched over, he swung his elbow at Steve's head and sprang upright. But Steve wasn't given any respite. Before his foggy vision had a chance to clear, the man lifted a heel and drove it into Steve's face, leaving him lay in his own blood, dazed and confused.

Weakened by blood loss and unable to move anymore, Steve could do nothing. The man, standing over him with an evil grin, lifted his weapon and aimed it at Steve's head. Before he had a chance to even think of anything, the sound of a gunshot rang through his ears.

Steve sprang open his eyes, unsure whether they've been open or closed, but didn't feel any more pain than before. The terror crept into his mind when he took in the scene in front of him, hoping he'd drifted into a nightmare.

Grace was standing in the hallway, a look of determination that was definitely a Williams family trait in her eyes. Her arms raised, Danny's gun steady in her hands, pointed at the dead man crumpled on the floor next to Steve.

"Grace," he whispered, his voice extremely faint. "Run!"

Grace shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks, determination fuelling her as she pointed the gun somewhere behind him. Half a second too late.

Steve felt the cold metal of the muzzle pressed against his temple and he begged her with his eyes to put the gun down and get out of here.

"Come on, Grace," the man crouching over his head said, a mocking grin stretched on his face. "Put the gun down before you hurt someone else."

"I… I'll shoot you," she cried, adjusting her aim. "My father showed me how."

The man laughed. "Of course he did. I expect nothing less from your father."

Steve's heart sank. With every beat of his heart he felt the blood pumping out of his chest, but he had no strength to lift his hand and try to slow down the bleeding. He could feel the heartbeat slow down and the chill spreading across his fatigued body. He'd been shot many times in his life. Enough to know he didn't have long before bleeding out.

"You know, if you shoot me, I'll shoot first. And I'm sure you don't want to kill your uncle Steve, do you, Grace?"

_Son of a bitch!_ Steve thought, desperately trying to muster any last bit of strength to move, rage rushing in his veins. But he couldn't. He was too far gone.

"No, please," she cried out. "Don't hurt him."

Her desperate voice was cutting into the core of his soul. She had no idea, but he knew better. It didn't matter anymore. He wouldn't make it anyway. He just hoped for her and Charlie to get away from these men safely.

"Get out," he croaked, wheezing as he did do, begging her to leave while she had the chance. But with her father's temper in her blood, Steve knew it was near impossible. Yet, he had to try. "P… please."

"Throw the gun away," the man ordered again, pushing the gun deeper into Steve's head.

Grace flinched at that and made a step forward, but didn't lower the aim. "No! Please don't do that."

"Then stop me," the man taunted. "Give me the gun."

"Don't," Steve whispered, finding it difficult to get the word out, pain ripping through his chest with every breath.

She shook her head. "If I give you the gun, you'll just kill him."

The man smirked. "As you wish. I'll give you three seconds to decide."

Steve wished he'd never witnessed the terror in Grace's eyes when their gazes met for a brief moment.

"Three."

Steve shook his head slightly, silently begging her not to do that. To do anything but what this bastard wanted her to.

_Just run, Grace. Please._

"Two."

_This wasn't happening - it couldn't be. Not with Danny's kids. Please let this be a nightmare._

"Last chance, princess," the man taunted, his finger twitching on the trigger.

"No! Stop!" she shouted, lowering the gun a few inches. "What… What if I come with you? That's why you're here, aren't you?"

"G… Grace, no!" What he intended as a shout was a mere whisper. She couldn't do that! Anything but that. Not for him. Especially not when it wouldn't matter in a few minutes anyway.

But Grace ignored him, speaking to the attacker. "Will you leave him alone then?"

Tears burned in Steve's eyes as he didn't have the strength to stop this.

"You've got my word. You just put the gun down, and we'll go."

_No. No. No. Grace, please. Don't._

"Step away from him first," Grace demanded.

"Smart girl," the man said. "All right. Let's go before your father gets home and spoils the party. I'll step away, but if you try anything, I'll make sure both, your uncle and father are as good as dead, is that clear?"

Grace stared at the man, then slid down her tears-filled eyes on the floor to Steve. He shook his head, the last futile attempt to beg her to do anything but go with these men.

"Okay."

His heart sank.

_Please, don't do that, Grace. I'm not worth it._

If he wasn't dying anyway, Danny would certainly kill him. He'd never forgive him and he'd never forgive himself for this failure. He was better off dead than living with Danny's hatred and his own immense guilt of not being able to protect the closest thing to family he'd ever had.

"Okay then." The man next to him got back to his feet and made two steps back, watching Grace intently.

Tears streamed down Steve's cheek as he blinked. His eyelids fluttering, life quickly waning from his body, Steve couldn't do anything as Grace marched past the four men, passing the gun to one of them.

The man smiled and nodded at the man on his right. "Find the boy."

"No!" Grace shouted. "That wasn't the deal."

"I never said a word about your brother, princess. I just promised to leave your uncle alone."

She cried out as two men walked away, smashing everything they'd found on their way. She instinctively moved forward, but the man in charge grabbed her by the arm.

"No! You have me, you don't need my brother!"

But the men ignored her pleas, the noises of breaking glass and doors crashing suggesting they were doing their best to find Charlie, trying to scare him as much as possible in the process.

_Please. Let me wake up. Let this be a bad dream. I'd do anything… anything to avoid this._

Grace met his gaze one more time, fear and anguish all over her face. "I love you, uncle Steve," she whispered, her voice shaking.

Steve wanted to tell her he loved her too. Tell her how sorry he was. He'd give up his life to protect her and her brother.

But he couldn't even open his mouth anymore, as he was left bleeding out alone on the cold hallway floor, his eyes on the broken family picture of Danny, Grace, and Charlie, the frame covered in his blood, laying not far away from him on the floor.

Soon, he heard Charlie's desperate scream and the accusing faces of his loved ones on the picture were the last thing he saw before the darkness swallowed him, bringing the respite from the agony and unbearable guilt.


	2. Chapter 2

It was almost midnight when Danny pulled up in front of his house. He stopped the engine and remained in his seat for a moment, grinning like a teenager, replaying the evening's events in his head.

He hadn't had such a good night out since… He wasn't even sure he remembered the last time. The thing was, he never imagined his best date in years would be a night spent with his ex-wife. It made him remember all the great times they had together, all the great memories he and Rachel shared years before it went down the hill. It revived the feelings he'd forgotten about long ago.

He closed his eyes and envisioned the moment he'd dropped Rachel off at her house just a little while ago. The moment when he'd enjoyed his ex-wife's fingers in his hair and the feel of her pressed up against the door of his Camaro as they made out like they were a couple of teenagers.

"Danny," Rachel said while he took a breath. "Maybe you should-"

Danny slanted his lips over hers before she had a chance to finish the sentence. She giggled in a way that neither of them had been carefree enough in a long time to manage, so he continued his efforts to make her forget about everything except for him and the bubble of nothing that they could exist in at that moment.

"Come on. You should go and check on the kids," she said, pulling away just enough to brush noses with him.

"Oh, they'll be fine. Grace's got them under control." He leaned forward, kissing her neck one more time as she laughed at that.

Thinking about Rachel's laughter, he smiled. After a long time, that smile was genuine, for no reason, just like that. And just a thought he wanted to cancel it earlier today made him feel silly. It was Steve who'd made him not to do so for some reason.

For understandable reasons, his best friend wasn't impressed when he'd told him about Rachel, yet he'd supported him all along. His brother was the only one who knew about it and despite warning him to be careful, he'd never asked him why was he such a fool to give Rachel another chance.

_I just want you to be happy, buddy. Just be careful._

Danny heard Steve's words in his head. Steve never once reminded him what Rachel had done to him, the ways she'd hurt him. Of course he didn't. If anyone could relate, it was Steve. Both of them have given a second chance to a woman, blinded by the feelings, despite the brain screaming at them not to. Like two blinded fools, not being able to learn from their own mistakes whenever it came to women.

Of course he wasn't a dumb kid anymore, and it'd take more than sweet talk and a great night out to erase all the pain and lies, but he was willing to take his time to see where this would go. But he'd keep this from both of his kids for now, in case it wouldn't work out.

Anyway, he'll have to thank his partner for making him get out tonight. Yeah, he'll do it straight away. Maybe he'd even wake up early in the morning to make one of Steve's favorite meals for breakfast. He couldn't see Grace nor Charlie complaining about the pancakes with banana and chocolate chips anyway.

Danny got out of the car and fished for the keys in the pocket. Pushing the door open, he prepared himself to punch in the code to silence the alarm but noticed it was off. He frowned. Okay, no pancakes for Steve then. How could he forget to turn it on? He's a former SEAL and a total freak when it came to security.

He was about to close the door when he smelled it. Too familiar, sickly smell of blood.

No.

His hand shaking, he turned the light on and froze for a second. A cold shiver ran down his spine when he saw nothing at its place. The furniture was moved into the weird positions, toppled over, shards of broken glass and ceramics all over the floor. What the hell had happened here?

He made two steps forward, glancing around as panic began to creep into his mind.

"Steve?" he called out, snapping out of the shock and sprinting upstairs where the rooms of his kids were, taking it three stairs at a time. "Grace! Charlie!"

No one answered.

_Why no one answered?_

He knew why at the moment he reached the top of the stairway and his heart skipped a beat.

Steve was… Was he…?

On his back, his arms outstretched, Steve lay still - way too still, in a huge puddle of his own blood, his eyes closed. Blood was gushing out of his chest, soaking into his t-shirt. God, there was so much blood.

Danny slumped onto the floor next to him, his hand shaking as he reached for Steve's carotid artery, afraid he was gone. The pulse was there, albeit weak and irregular. "Steve, wake up." He pressed both of his hands against the wound, but the blood kept flowing through his fingers.

"Grace! Charlie!" he called out again, his voice shrill, but a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach told him he wouldn't get any answer.

Where were they? They couldn't be- He shook his head, pushing the thought into the back of his skull. No, his kids were all right, they had to be.

He looked down. The blood kept finding its way out of his friend's body despite his best effort to stop it. He needed something to slow down the bleeding. His mind in a total panic, he sprang up and rushed toward Grace's room, which was the closest to him, and grabbed a clean towel, one eye searching for his daughter despite knowing she wouldn't be there.

Kneeling beside Steve again, he pressed the folded towel against his wound with one hand, taking the phone out with the other one. He dialed the number, his blood running cold from pure dread.

"This is Detective Danny Williams, Five-0 task force." His own voice sounded so foreign to him. "I need an ambulance at my house, right now. I… I've got a patient with GSW to the chest. You need to hurry up!"

He barely registered what the person on the other side of the line was saying as blood rushed into his ears, roaring loudly in his head. He threw the phone on the floor next to him.

"Grace!" he tried again, louder, a desperate plea for her and her brother to miraculously show up. Maybe they were hiding somewhere, afraid to come out. "Charlie, it's Danno. Just come out, okay? It's safe now!"

Nothing.

Steve flinched at Danny's last scream, his eyelids fluttered for a second, before he managed to keep his eyes open. No, not open. His eyes were mere slits, his lashes against his cheeks, but his gaze tracking the movements Danny made. He drew a wheezy moan that chilled Danny to the core.

"That's it, buddy. Keep your eyes open, all right?" He wanted to ask what the hell had happened, why his kids haven't answered his calls. He had a hundred questions but it all had to wait.

"T'ey took 'em," Steve managed to croak, his voice so faint and pain-filled it was breaking Danny's heart. "S'rry."

_Who?_

He could tell from the rasping noise of Steve's breaths that the bullet had pierced a lung. Not only was Steve bleeding heavily from the wound but his body was quickly being starved of oxygen. He needed immediate expert medical attention or… He couldn't even think about that.

Danny was about to ask if Steve knew who "they" were, when his friend's eyelids slipped shut again. He pushed down harder on the towel, which was now soaked. "No, no, no. Stay with me, buddy. Please, stay with me." A tear rolled down Danny's cheek despite all his efforts to keep it together. "Hey, open your eyes, Steven. You hear me?"

No reply. His friend was completely still again. He forced himself to focus. To think, however hard was it right now. His kids weren't here. But his brother was. He had to save him.

"I've got you. I've got you, you're gonna be all right," Danny promised, yet he wasn't sure it was a promise that could be kept. Damn it, where is that ambulance?

Danny felt so detached from his body, it felt like none of this was real. No. His kids were safe and his brother wasn't dying. It was just a bad dream, it had to be.

_They took them._

Steve's words kept replaying in his panicked mind and felt like a stab right into the heart. What was he going to do? They were everything to him. The only people keeping the broken pieces of his soul together. He'd do anything in the world to keep them safe. Yet. He'd failed them all today.

Danny shook his friend's shoulder. "Hey. Stay with me, Steve. You don't get to die! Can you listen to me for once in your life? Do not die!"

He pressed harder on the wound, doing his absolute best to slow down the bleeding, to save every drop of it. There was too much of it on the floor. God, way too much. How much blood can a person lose and live?

"Come on, buddy." Danny's pleas got more and more frantic as the seconds dragged without any movement.

"You've gotta hang on, all right? Just a little longer."

Nothing but silence answered him. But Steve's chest was slightly rising and falling.

Until it wasn't.

"No. No! Steve! You stubborn son of a bitch, don't die!" Danny yelled, his trembling hand sliding onto Steve's neck again.

Nothing.

It was utterly silent beneath Danny's fingers.

Danny felt like he was choking. He felt an immediate collapse deep in his chest, like his heart suddenly stopped beating too and sunk into the abyss. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think when he realized his brother's heart had stopped beating.

"No! Please!" Danny didn't even realize the salty tears were wetting his cheeks by now. "Wake up, Steve. Please, wake up."

Danny shouted in frustration. The loud scream came from the very bottom of his soul, reflecting the unbearable agony his heart was in.

He couldn't lose him. He wouldn't. No. There had to be something he could do. Anything. Without even thinking about what he was doing, all the training, all the hours spent around the injured SEAL, all the time he'd spent reading about the first aid just in case Steve would get them into some trouble again - it all kicked in before he'd even realize it.

He jumped up on his feet and rushed to the drawer downstairs. He yanked the medical kit from the wall and opened it up as he slid back down to the floor next to Steve.

With trembling hands, Danny used scissors to snip away at the t-shirt around Steve's chest. Steve had stopped breathing already, there was no sign of pulse at all - but Danny had to try. One last, desperate attempt to bring his best friend back.

He stuck a bandage over the bullet hole to plug the gap, but he needed to decompress the lung to give Steve a chance. Danny grabbed a hollow needle from the medical kit, his fingers fumbling as he tore off the paper and plastic packaging. He thrust the nib of the needle down into Steve's chest – hard enough to break through skin and flesh but not so hard as to go straight through into the lung again.

Whether through luck or judgment Danny hit a sweet spot. The needle dug deep into Steve's flesh, and Danny heard a small escape of air through the syringed top. But he needed Steve to breathe to inflate the lung again. He pinched Steve's nose and opened Steve's mouth with his other hand, then blew as hard as he could. He took his mouth away, inhaled deeply, then blew into Steve's mouth a second time. He heard hissing as Steve's lung filled and pushed the air from the chest cavity and out through the syringe.

"Please don't die on me, brother," Danny cried out as he pumped on Steve's chest, over and over, trying to get the heart working. Then he went back to forcing breaths down Steve's throat. Then to pumping the heart. He was sure he heard cracking of Steve's ribs, but that was the least of Steve's problems right now. He could deal with Steve having a broken rib or two. He couldn't deal with his best friend's death though. Danny himself was now out of breath and sweating profusely from the effort as he moved with purpose and ferocity, his whole body tense. He was trying to save his Steve, but there was so much going on inside his head – so much anger, desperation and guilt, then…

Steve's upper body lurched up and he gasped for breath. His eyes went wide as the sudden surge of oxygen to his brain brought him back from the dead. It looked like someone was pulling his eyeballs out of his head on a string. But almost as quickly as he'd sprung to life, Steve's body slumped back down and he went limp once again.

"That's it, buddy!" Danny said. "You have to fight, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Steve said nothing. His eyes were shut close. But he was breathing again. Danny could tell from the tiny rise and fall in his chest, and the small hiss of air that came with each breath. For a moment, at least. But soon, Danny couldn't hear his breaths. Again. There was nothing but silence and the utter desperation hanging in the air, threatening to consume him.

"Step aside, Detective!" an unfamiliar voice cut through the adrenaline and the hopelessness that was threatening to paralyze him.

But he couldn't move, he just couldn't… He had to save Steve.

A pair of hands pulled on his shoulders, trying to bat him away, trying to make him break the hold of his best friend, his partner, his brother.

"Stay with me, Steve," he pleaded quietly, his heart twitching as Steve's body jerked under the power of the defibrillator.

"Detective Williams, please step aside. You have to let us do our job!"

Danny complied reluctantly and watched the paramedics loading Steve onto a stretcher and… Just now he noticed Steve had another gunshot wound in his upper back. He shook his head in disbelief as he watched them making their way to the still-open front door.

"Are you coming with us, Detective?"

Of course he was. What a ridiculous question. Steve needed him. Steve needed him. Of course he was go-

Grace and Charlie.

No, he couldn't go with Steve. Of course he couldn't. What a ridiculous thought. He needed to find his children. He needed to move the Earth to bring them home. He needed his kids safe.

They took them. Steve's words.

His kids weren't here. That meant they were alive. That was the only thing keeping him from completely breaking apart.

"Detective?"

He shook his head. "I… I can't go yet. Where are you taking him?"

"Queen's."

He nodded, unable to speak again, unable to process the fact he couldn't be with his brother when he needed him the most. But Grace and Charlie were somewhere out there. They needed their father. Steve would understand. Of course he would. He'd even tell him to go looking for them if he could speak.

Glancing at the ambulance, Danny forced himself to put himself together. He had no choice. Not now. Not when the lives of his family depended on him.

He ran up the stairs and picked up his phone from the floor. He dialed Lou's number, smearing Steve's blood all over the screen as he did so. Waiting for Lou to answer, he rushed into Charlie's room, then Grace's one… searching, hoping that maybe, just maybe Steve was wrong and his kids were at home. He kept calling their names as he searched the house frantically, still waiting for Lou to answer.

"Come on, come on, Lou! Answer the damn phone!" Lou was asleep, of course he was at this ungodly hour, but he needed him awake and working. Now more than ever before.

"Danny? What's wrong?"

What wasn't? Everything was wrong. He didn't even know where to start.

"Danny? You there, buddy?"

_Keep it together, Williams. They need you._

"Lou, listen to me. I need you to call the team. Check the last hour of every single camera in my neighborhood. Lock the perimeter down and send HPD and CSU into my house. They'll be looking for DNA, fingerprints… anything they can find here. And I want the airport and all the ports on the island locked down right now. No one gets off the island until I say so."

"Okay, okay. I'm on it. You wanna tell me what happened?" Danny heard shuffling on the other side of the line, as though Lou was dressing up.

Danny brushed his fingers through his closed eyes to concentrate, to not let the tears get the best of him. He couldn't afford to lose any more time. "Someone took Grace and Charlie."

"Wh… What?"

"You heard right. Someone kidnapped my children right from my house. Make sure every available officer is searching for them. I want it all turned upside down. Every inch of this island."

"I will take care of it. Where are you?"

Danny appreciated Lou hasn't asked if he was all right. Lou's been there. He was a father too and had his girl kidnapped before. He must've known how Danny was feeling right now. "At home."

"You need one of us there?"

"No. No, I'll meet you in the office, but… But I need someone to go to the Queen's Medical. Steve's been shot and I... I just… I can't go there right now. I need to find them, Lou."

"I get it, Danny. I'll take care of everything, all right? See you in the office." Lou ended the call.

Danny closed his eyes, trying to calm his frantic breathing, thinking where to start.

How was this even possible? How could everything change so much in a matter of seconds? At one moment he was almost happy and then… This wasn't supposed to happen. It supposed to be safe here.

But someone decided to take the only thing that mattered to him. His whole family. Three people he'd do anything for.

_Anything._

Consequences be damned.

And whoever they were, they'd just made their last mistake.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny needed a few moments to compose himself. To calm his frantic heartbeat and force his mind to work. That was what he had to do. He couldn't break apart now, he couldn't afford the fear and anger to get into his way.

He had to get his shit together. Focus. He'd been there before years ago and he knew what to do. He knew there were only two choices. He could shut down and start mourning his kids or he could do anything and everything it took to run over whatever stood in his way to get Charlie and Grace back. And he'd always choose the latter.

But back then, he knew exactly who took Grace and why. And Steve was there, doing everything he could to help him get his daughter back, not dying on the way to the hospital, all alone.

He closed his eyes and took a few calming breaths, halting that train of thoughts. No. Steve won't die. There was no way he could help his best friend now, no matter how much he hated that fact. He did everything he could. He had to focus on getting his kids home now.

He opened his eyes and looked around him, this time taking in the details. Every evidence of the fight, every piece of furniture, every broken picture, every drop of blood, his own gun on the floor close to the puddle of blood Steve'd left on the floor. He tried his best to puzzle it all together to get an idea of what had happened.

If something was clear right now, it was the fact Steve had put a hell of a fight before going down. And yet, it wasn't enough. There was only one person in the whole word Danny trusted with his children's life - his best friend. And if Steve wasn't able to protect them despite his best efforts, then no one could.

Painstakingly searching through the house, the small piece of him still hoping to find his kids, he took in everything, including the bodies. Checking for the pulse, he was pleased to find out two out of four men were just unconscious. That meant they could speak.

He took the guns and phones from all the men, then snapped a photo of their faces and sent it to the rest of the team.

Checking the last calls of the cells one by one, Danny found a recent call in one of them. The number repeated three times that day. Without a second thought, he dialed it and waited, his hand trembling.

A man answered the call almost immediately. "Is it done?"

A wave of anger surged through Danny when he heard the unfamiliar voice, so calm and casual. "Who is it? Where ar-" He didn't have a chance to finish before the line went dead. He tried again, but this time it went straight to the voicemail.

_Son of a bitch!_

Danny sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He heard the police sirens in the distance as he crouched over the unconscious man closer to him and slapped him across the face.

"Hey, wake up!" He slapped him again, harder. "I said wake up."

The man flinched, springing his eyes open. The moment when he realized what was happening he tried to scramble himself on his feet, managing only half of the movement. Danny didn't give him a chance to do a thing. He grabbed hold of the man's arm and twisted it into a hammerlock. The man squirmed and cried out.

"Where are they? Huh? Where are my kids?" Danny transformed the sadness and desperation into a pure rage as he spoke.

The man turned his head, his face creased with anger, just like Danny's. He began to spin, trying to move out of the hold. He balled his fist, swinging it around.

Danny saw it coming.

He let go of the man's arm, caught the flying fist mid-air and sent a punch onto the crown of the guy's nose. Danny didn't put his all into it, despite his heart screaming to just shoot the guy. But the blow was just enough to set the scene. Send a message.

The man fell back to the ground and clutched at his nose which poured with thick red blood. "You bastard!" he screamed. "You've broken my nose!"

"That won't be the only thing I break if you don't start talking," Danny said, not giving him a respite. He pulled the man up on his feet and smashed his back against the wall. He was at him in an instant, his forearm crushing the man's windpipe. "So let me ask you again. Where are they?"

Struggling for the air, the man bucked and gasped, his hands trying to break free of Danny's hold. He couldn't speak even if he wanted to.

Danny gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as rage bubbled inside him. "I want you to think about your answer very carefully, all right? Unless you want to end up like your friends over there." He gestured toward two dead men with his head.

Danny held a little longer, then released the pressure on the guy's neck just enough to allow him to speak.

The man gasped for a few seconds, then managed a mocking laugh, his eyes locking on Danny's. "You're not a very good father, are you?"

Without a warning, Danny's right hook landed on the man's face, leaving a small gash above his eyebrow, a thin stream of blood running down his face. Danny could hear the sound of the police sirens coming closer.

The man's head whipped to the side with the force of the blow, but he shifted his eyes back to Danny in an instant, a smirk creeping into his face. "If you took better care of your kids, maybe they wouldn't be missing."

Not thinking about what he was doing, Danny reached for the gun he'd put behind his belt and pushed the muzzle into the man's forehead, pressing his forearm tighter against the man's neck. "Listen to me," he said, doing his best to contain his emotions and not to blow up the man's brain straight away. He still needed him. "Listen to me you son of a bitch. You better tell me what I want to know or I'll make sure you'll regret ever stepping into this house for the rest of your life."

The man said nothing, his eyes on Danny, his expression emotionless.

"Where are they?" Danny shouted, fighting the urge to smash his head into pieces. He released the pressure again to give the man a chance to speak, but other than more rasping and choking sounds, he got no answer. "Answer me!"

Danny pushed the gun deeper into the guy's skull when he heard the voice coming from downstairs. "Detective Williams?"

He knew that voice. It was Pua from HPD. He didn't answer.

"Are you gonna shoot me?" the man taunted. "A cop like you won't have it easy in the jail, you know?"

But Danny didn't care. More than a cop, more than anything, he was a father right now. He tried his best to ignore the comments. "Where are they? Huh? Tell me!"

"Detective Williams put the gun down. We've got him now." He heard Pua's voice right behind his back this time.

Danny considered pulling the trigger, but he needed the answers this man had, and killing the only source of information in front of the HPD officers wouldn't help him get his family back. He stepped away, gun still trained on the man as one of the officers handcuffed his hands. He watched as the other man was handcuffed on his left, still unconscious.

"I want them both in Five-0 HQ now," Danny ordered and turned on his heel, walking away without waiting for Pua's confirmation.

Danny might not be able to put a bullet through their head yet, but he could sure as hell do his best to make them talk once they were down in the interrogation room. And they will talk. He would make sure of that.

He couldn't stop wondering who would do this to him, what he'd done to deserve this. But thanks to his job, the list was too long. Not as long as McGarrett's, but long enough to not have a clue who'd taken his children. The ghosts of his past were pulling him in, his enemies baying for his blood. Yet Danny had to follow the trail, wherever it took him. He had to do everything he could do find Grace and Charlie. To find those responsible for taking them from him, and for shooting Steve.

To find out why.

To make them pay.

The drive to the headquarters passed in a blur. Unable to focus on anything else but the smell of blood after entering the door of his home, the utter silence that answered his desperate pleas and calls.

He felt a sudden flood of guilt. He hadn't been there to protect his family. While he'd been busy chasing an old flame, the most important people of his life had come to harm.

When he marched through the glass door, all the eyes turned to him. He was the last one to arrive.

"Oh my God, Danny, are you all right?" Adam's eyes grew wide when she scanned trough him.

Danny realized he wasn't asking about his mental state. Of course, all of them knew the answer to that question. He glanced down and understood the concern in Adam's eyes. He'd forgotten about Steve's blood covering his pants, shirt and hands.

"Yeah, that's… I'm not injured. It's all Steve's blood."

No one dared to ask the question hanging in the air. Judging by the amount of blood on Danny's clothes and the pain-filled look in his eyes, they'd probably taken a guess about how bad was it.

"Tani's in the hospital," Junior said. "She'll keep us informed."

Danny's skin was crawling with the need to get to the hospital to check on Steve, but right now, he couldn't. "Okay," he said, his voice broken.

"And we got a maile amber alert out," Lou added. "Every cop on the island is looking for Charlie and Grace right now. We're gonna tear this place apart if we need to."

"Thanks, Lou."

"So what'd happened?" Adam asked.

"I don't know. I've left them with Steve for the night. I came home late and… and they were gone." The bile rose in his throat when he said it out loud. "Steve killed two guys, the other two should be downstairs by now. Were you able to ID them?"

Adam nodded. "We've just run the photos you sent us and got a match. Dennis Cox and Lewi Ailani are the two dead guys. The other two are Ryker Logan and Peter Martinez."

The photos of four men with personal information appeared on the screen above Danny's head. According to those, Ryker Logan was the one he'd attempted to question back at his house.

"All four had spent some time in Halawa. Armed robberies, assaults, domestic violence, homicide… You name it. But other than that we don't see anything that links them together," Adam added.

"All right, keep looking. We need to find out who they're working for. What about the security footage?"

"We're still going through it," Adam said. "I hope we can find the kidnappers in the video."

"Okay, you do that." Danny reached into his pocket and turned to Junior. "Here." He passed him four cell phones. "That belonged to the thugs at my house. See if you can find something."

"On it." Junior nodded.

"Lou, you're going with me."

"Sure. Where are we going?" Lou asked and followed Danny, who'd already strode toward the entrance.

Danny clenched his jaw, channeling all his worry and rage into raw determination. "To get the answers."

Both men rushed down several flights of stairs and through the corridor. Danny barrelled through the door of the interrogation room, storming inside with Lou following him.

Martinez sat in the chair, his hands handcuffed to the sides, chin slumped on his chest. He lifted his head when Lou slammed the door shut. The movement was uncoordinated and his eyes glazed. Danny assumed Steve had probably worked this guy well enough to give him a concussion. But he didn't care.

"Hey, I need you to be focused," Danny said to Martinez, who squinted his eyes at him without an answer, as though still only half-awake.

A sound of a gunshot echoing through the room was followed by a shrill scream of pain as the bullet from Danny's gun tore through the flesh of Martinez's shoulder.

Lou opened his mouth to protest but stopped himself before speaking up, which Danny was grateful for.

"You focused yet?" Danny asked, ignoring the screams, the weapon still trained on him.

Martinez met Danny's gaze, his eyes wide open now, breathing hard to drive the pain out.

"Good. There we go. I've got just one simple question for you. Where are my children?"

"You…" Martinez spoke through clenched teeth as blood soaked into his t-shirt. "You can't do this."

Hell he couldn't. He'd use any means necessary and he was just warming up. He leaned forward and tugged at the collar of Martinez's t-shirt. "Listen to me. The only reason you're still alive is that you know where my children are so do yourself a favor and tell me before I put another bullet into you."

"What kind of a cop are you?" Martinez's eyes grew wide.

_The one whose entire world had been taken from him. The one who has nothing to lose except his family._

"Where are they?" Danny repeated, squeezing the gun in his hand.

Nothing.

Danny didn't even try to hold up. He released his hold of Martinez's t-shirt and jabbed a punch into Martinez's ribcage, making him hunch forward. According to the cracking sound, the blow had probably cracked a rib.

Martinez grunted in pain. "I… I don't know," he said as he tried to compose himself.

"You don't know?" Danny turned to Lou, blood boiling in his veins. "Did you hear that? He doesn't know."

"So you want us to believe that you don't know where were you supposed to take them?" Lou said. "We ain't gonna fall for that, man."

"It's the truth." Martinez shifted the gaze between the two of them.

Danny had enough of lies. There was no time for this. He'd been in his line of work for long enough to know that the first couple of hours after kidnapping were the most important, and with every hour the chances to find the kidnapped person were lower. An hour had already passed since he'd returned home and he might be running out of time. His chest tightened with the thought.

He holstered his gun and reached for the revolver behind his belt. He lifted it up, showing it to Martinez. "That's a very nice gun. GP100, right? Is that yours or one of your buddies?" he asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "You know what, it doesn't matter."

Lou raised an eyebrow in confusion as Danny opened up the cylinder and emptied it into his hand.

"What… What are you doing?" There was a hint of panic in Martinez's voice as he watched him.

"That's a valid question," Lou said, staring at the bullets in Danny's hand. "What are you doing, Danny?"

The answer to their question was obvious as soon as he returned one single round into the weapon and spun the cylinder. He watched the fear grow in Martinez's eyes.

"Have you ever heard of Russian roulette? You know, I've always wanted to try it out, but I couldn't do that with my kind of gun," he said, holding Martinez's frightened gaze.

"I don't know where they are!" Martinez yelled, shaking his head frantically.

"Danny?"

He ignored the concern in Lou's voice and pressed the muzzle of the revolver against Martinez's temple. "Are you sure you want to stick to that answer?"

All color drained from Martinez's face. He started to struggle in his chair.

"Danny."

"I'm telling the truth, I don't know. We were just supposed to grab them, get them to the van and leave the van at the address, that's it."

"Where were you supposed to leave the van?" Danny asked.

"The corner of Kamoku Street and Ka'aha Street."

Lou picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Who are 'we'? I'm going to need the names of your buddies," Danny said while Lou was talking to the rest of the team.

"Those guys were hired just like me, we've never met each other before today."

"Hired by who?" Danny spat out.

"I don't know his name," Martinez said.

"I don't believe you," Danny snarled, his finger twitching on the trigger. "Last chance."

Martinez shook his head. "You won't do that." His voice shook and it sounded more like a plea than a statement. He looked at Lou, who'd finished the call. "He won't do that, right? He can't."

Unable to hold on any longer, Danny pulled the trigger. A soft, clicking sound of the gun was followed by Martinez's scream.

"You can't do this! I don't know, I swear!"

"Danny!" Lou yelled, his eyes wide in surprise. "If you kill him, he won't tell us anything."

Danny ignored them both and pressed the muzzle deeper into Martinez's temple. "That was the first one. There's still six more. That makes it almost seventeen percent chance the next shot will end your life. So let me ask again. Who hired you? Huh? What's his name?"

"I don't know!" The man cried out. "I don't know his name! I swear!"

"You don't know his name?" Danny didn't lower the gun. "Thing is, I don't believe you. So why don't you just tell me his name before I lose my patience and pull the trigger again? You've got three seconds. Three…"

"No, stop! I don't know!" Martinez struggled against the handcuffs, his eyes wide in fear.

"Two."

"Danny, stop!"

"One." Danny pulled the trigger again and didn't even flinch when Martinez screamed out, the man's brain taking a moment to register another empty click of the gun. "You're lucky. The next shot will bring the stakes up to twenty percent."

"Please no! I don't know his name," the man yelled. "He didn't tell me his name. He contacted me through email, I've never even met the guy!"

"Have you got the emails?" Lou asked, his eyes darting between Martinez, who was almost at the point of tears and Danny, who still held a gun at the man's head, rage written all over his face.

"No, of course not. I've deleted them. Please don't shoot."

"You've got a laptop or something?" Lou didn't let his eyes from either of them.

"Yes, at home."

"The address," Danny demanded.

"1188 Bishop Street."

His hands trembling, Danny lowered his gun and turned on his heel, heading for the doorway.

"Hey, you can't just leave me here," Martinez yelled. "I need an ambulance."

Danny swallowed a lump in his throat. Steve had needed it too. And they've left him bleed out on the floor. He opened the door and walked outside without a word, ignoring Martinez's protests.

Lou shut the door behind them and stared at Danny with concern in his eyes. "Danny, I know you're worried and angry but a dead guy won't tell us anything, you know that, right?"

"I know."

"Listen to me, man." Lou grabbed both of Danny's shoulders and forced him to look at him. "We'll find them, okay? We'll find them and bring them home."

It was what Danny kept telling himself, but it was nice to hear it from someone else too. "I know."

"Good." Lou waited a few more seconds before releasing his grip. "Now, let me speak to Logan and you go get that laptop and find someone who can find and track those emails, all right?"

"Yeah, okay," Danny agreed, doing his best to keep himself focused, not to think about how scared his children must be right now, hoping for their dad to find them.

That laptop and email conversation with the person behind the kidnapping was his best bet. He had to get it.

Lou stared at him for a few seconds, his lips slightly open.

"What?" Danny said.

"How did you know that you wouldn't shoot him when you've pulled the trigger?"

"I didn't."


	4. Chapter 4

Danny and Junior were sitting behind the desk in Halawa, waiting impatiently. Martinez's laptop was open on the desk, the email history open on the screen. Danny glanced over his watch and his stomach clenched tight. It's been almost five hours since he'd come home to his worst nightmare. There was no call from the kidnappers, no clues where to find his children, no call from the hospital about Steve's condition. The time was running out and it was driving him crazy.

The door opened and he lifted his head to see a smug smile on the face of the man who'd entered. "Long time no see, fellas," Aaron Wright said as a guard secured his hands to the desk. The two guards took place by his sides. "Let me guess. You need a favor."

"We do, actually," Danny said, pointing at the laptop in front of them. "We need you to find the deleted email conversation and track it to the person on the other side."

"Straight to the point, Detective," Aaron smirked. "All right then, what is it I get out of this?"

"You can walk out of here in one piece, how about that?" Junior said.

Wright scoffed and began to rise from his chair. "In that case, I'm pretty sure you can find someone else to help you."

Danny knew there was no time to look for another hacker and Wright's skills made him the easiest and fastest choice at the moment. "What do you want?" he asked.

Wright sat again, his gaze shifting from Danny to Junior and back. "I want a transfer to a minimum-security facility."

"That's not gonna happen," Danny said. "But if you won't help us, I'll make sure to make your accommodation worse than it is right now if that's even possible."

Wright stared at him for a few seconds, evaluating the validity of the threat. "All right," he said eventually. "Can I at least get a coffee? Black, no sugar."

"That can be arranged," Junior agreed and gestured toward the laptop. "Now get to work and hurry up."

* * *

The sound of lock in the door made Grace's heart sank. She expected them to bring Charlie too, but as soon as the men have pushed her into the room, they've left her alone. She turned around and slammed her fists into the wooden door when she heard Charlie crying on the other side of it.

"Charlie!" she called out, trying to open the door and get to her brother, but it didn't budge. "No. You can't do this."

"Grace. Grace!" Charlie's calls of her name soon became distant and then disappeared completely, no matter how hard she banged on the door and begged them not to take her brother away from her.

After what seemed like forever, still shaking, she slowly turned around and took in her surrounding. The room was really small, maybe eight by eight feet and the only furniture was the old, wooden single bed with mattress only and the wooden nightstand next to it. There was no window, the only light was coming from the bulb in the ceiling, but she couldn't see the light switch anywhere. The wall that used to be painted white had now damp, yellow stains all over it.

She still couldn't believe this was happening. It must be some bad dream and she'll wake up from soon, right?

She sat on the bed, hugging her knees as she leaned her back against the wall. She blinked back the tears, wondering where did they take Charlie, how was uncle Steve, and if Danno was already looking for them.

Poor Charlie was now alone who knows where. She knew how scared he must've been right now. She didn't remember the details anymore, but she could still remember how scared she'd been when Rick Peterson had kidnapped her and locked her up in the dark storage locker. Her brother was just a little older than she'd been back then.

At least Charlie didn't get to see what she'd seen tonight. She never thought she'd see her superhero uncle be shot like that. To bleed so much. But she wasn't a naive little girl anymore. Unlike her brother, she was well aware of the fact that her uncle Steve wasn't really a super SEAL as Danno and Charlie called him, and he hurt just like everyone else. And there was so much blood. The only way he would live was if Danno found him soon enough.

The thought of her father made her lose control of the salty tears building in her eyes again. Surely he knew what had happened by now. He'll come for them, like always. And make the bad guys pay for what they've done. She wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand. She couldn't cry now, she needed to be strong until then.

Grace had no idea how long she'd been sitting there, lost in her own mind, when the sound of the lock in the door startled her from her thoughts. She stood up, staring at the doorway as it opened and watched the familiar man enter the room. The same man that threatened to kill uncle Steve if she didn't put the gun down.

He closed the door and Grace noticed the tray with a toast and a glass of water. "Breakfast time," he said.

"I'm not hungry," she said with venom in her voice. "Where is my brother?"

"Safe." He walked toward the bed and placed the tray on the nightstand next to it.

Grace made a step back, trying to get as far away from the man as possible. She didn't see him lock the door. It was unlocked. If she could just get there fast enough. She sidestepped along the wall, then a little further, preparing herself for the run. But the man noticed and quickly grabbed hold of her arm.

"Let go off me!" she yelled, struggling to break herself free.

"I don't think so. Sit down and eat. Or don't, I don't really care. But sit down and shut up."

Grace didn't stop trying to pull her arm out of the hold, but to no avail.

The man chuckled, releasing her arm. "Relax, sweetheart."

"I'm not your sweetheart. Where is my brother?" Now free, Grace flicked her gaze toward the doorway. But he stood right in the way.

"I told you. Safe. I don't usually hurt kids. But if you won't stop pissing me off, that might no longer apply to your brother."

"You better don't touch him or-"

The man laughed out loud. "Or what? You can't do anything."

"I want to see Charlie," she demanded anyway, knowing he was right.

"Stop demanding things. Sit down and shut up or I'll make you regret your behavior. You don't want your daddy to find you like he'd found your uncle Steve, do you?"

That sentence resonated through her, sending shards of pain through her chest. She wanted to curl up in the corner and cry, but at the same time punch this guy right into his face. The arrogant smirk on the man's face made her blood boil with rage.

"You're a dead man, you know?" she said, her eyes defiant.

"What did you just say?"

She'd struck a nerve. Unsure whether it was smart to answer, she took her time. But the anger rose inside her for what'd been done to her family and eventually, it won over her brain telling her to be quiet.

"Are you deaf or what? You better go say goodbye to your family because when my father will find you, he'll rip all of you apart. He'll -"

But she never had a chance to finish whatever it was she was starting because the man shot of his arms out and wrapped his hand around Grace's throat, pushing her against the wall behind her.

"Be careful," he warned, leaning in close to her face, inhaling her scent as if he could smell her fear. He brought his lips to her cheek, and a moment later. She felt the scruff of his jaw along the shell of her ear. "Be very careful, princess."

Grace shuddered. His words were like physical things, three-dimensional and powerful, making her blood run cold. Perhaps she should've been quiet. But how could she? They've broken into their house, shot uncle Steve, ripped her and Charlie away from their family and held her little brother, probably scared to death, away from her.

The man was squeezing on her neck so hard, that he lifted her on her tiptoe. She had both hands wrapped around his thick forearm, clawing at him, digging tracks into his skin, trying to drag him off her. But he was much stronger than her.

"Had enough? Will you be a good girl and be quiet now?"

She didn't answer. Instead, mustering all the strength she could, she brought her knee up, aiming for the guy's groin, trying to free herself from her grip. But she'd missed and angered the man even more.

"I'll take that as a no."

The relief of hand releasing her neck was just momentary, as in a second, he gripped both her wrists in one hand above her head, pinning her arms to the wall. With the other hand, he lifted her hair and pushed it behind her shoulder. She flinched as he touched her jaw.

"What a temper for such a pretty girl." He lifted her face, turning it from side to side. "I can't kill you, princess. Not yet. But maybe I should teach you a lesson."

Grace could feel the goosebumps that have risen on her arms. She fought not to give him the satisfaction of showing her fear, but the threat was suddenly very real. This man was going to hurt her. Her lip began to tremble. But she won't go down without a fight. Danno wouldn't.

The man made a mistake as he cupped her cheek in his huge hand, running his thumb over her lip.

Grace snapped her teeth and bit down hard onto his hand. The taste of blood, like iron in her mouth, was her small victory.

"Go to hell," she said with a fire burning in her eyes when he pulled his hand back, but not for long.

He grabbed hold of her jaw, forcing her to look up at him. The grip was so tight she was sure it'll leave bruises on her face. "That was a mistake," he snarled. "You have sharp teeth and even sharper tongue, but don't worry. I'll break you of those."

She flinched, tried to fight him off, but she was no physical match to him. A single tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek despite trying her best to hold it.

The man wiped it off with his thumb, smearing the blood from his hand on her face as he did so. "Or maybe we can do something that won't damage this cute face. How about that? You might even like it."

Grace froze, panic rushing into her mind. No longer able to hide her fear, she allowed the tears to flow.

She heard the sound of opening doorway somewhere behind the man, then another voice. "What the hell is going on here?"

The man holding her turned his head to the side. "I'm about to teach the little princess how to behave."

A taller, thinner man came into a view, stopping next to him. He shifted his gaze between the two of them, then turned to his partner. "Are you out of your mind, you idiot? She's still a child. Leave her alone."

"She's almost seventeen now," the man protested. "And she definitely doesn't behave like a child." He released her wrists just to grab her neck again. With the back of his free hand, he stroked her cheek, ignoring her squirming and her nails digging into his skin.

The tall man grabbed his shoulder, suggesting to let go of Grace. "Stop, or I'll make you. She's not here for that."

"But…"

"Now!" the tall man raised his voice. "Unless you want me to talk to the boss."

"I'll let her go if she'll promise to be a good girl and shut up." The man met Grace's eyes.

Sighing, the other man looked at Grace. "That sounds fair to me. What do you think, Grace? Do we have a deal?"

She stopped squirming and let her arms drop beside her body, dropping her chin in defeat. "I just want to see my brother," she whispered. "Please."

The grip on her neck relaxed a little. "Now, that's the attitude I prefer," the man holding her said. "As long as you behave, we can make a deal."

She gathered the courage to lift her head again and meet the man's gaze. "Please let me see him."

"Okay. I'll bring him over. But If either of you causes any problems, I'll make sure you won't ever see each other again, is that clear?"

Grace gasped at the threat. They've taken her away from her parents, for what she knew uncle Steve was probably dead and her brother was the only person she had left. She couldn't let these men rip them apart. She nodded in agreement and didn't move when the man removed his hand from her neck and walked away with his partner, shutting the lights off on their way out, leaving her alone in the small, dark room. She brushed the man's blood off her face into a sleeve of her pajamas and waited in silence.

When the door opened again, her brother stood in the doorway with someone behind his back. As soon as he saw her, he sprinted forward and barrelled himself into her without a word, throwing his arms around her waist as she pulled him into the tight embrace.

Before she looked up, she heard the door shut close and the electric light from the corridor disappeared, leaving them in the complete darkness.

"Are you okay? You hurt?" she asked and a shake of his head was Charlie's only reply. "Let's sit down, all right?" She led him to the bed and let him climb in first, then she sat next to him, holding her hand around his shoulders.

"It's too dark here," Charlie said. "I'm scared."

"You don't have to be scared of the dark. Not when I'm with you." She was scared too. But definitely not of the dark. Showing that though, would freak out her little brother even more. She had to be the grown-up. She had to keep him safe until Danno will find them.

Charlie's chest heaved with a sob, and he wiped the back of his hand across his face.

She rested her cheek on the top of his head, snuggling him in her arms. "Shh, I'm with you, now. You don't have to be afraid." It was breaking her heart to see him like this and she wasn't sure she could comfort him enough to stop crying. "Look at me, Charlie."

Charlie lifted his head, his eyes red and puffy.

"I know you're scared, but you have to be brave, all right? Can you do that for me?"

He shook his head. "I can't. I'm not brave like Danno or uncle Steve."

"Of course you are, silly," she forced a smile. "And they'll be very proud of you when we get home. Just hang on a little longer, all right?"

"I want to go home," he said as he buried his head into Grace's shoulder. "I want mom and Danno and uncle Steve."

Resisting the urge to cry herself, Grace blinked the tears back, rocking her little brother back and forth gently. "I know, Charlie. I know. But it's gonna be okay." She wanted to go home too. She wanted to be back with their family and just the thought of the possibility of not seeing them again made her sick.

She couldn't imagine how Danno was faring. Her father would be looking for them, she knew that. He'd always put them first and she was certain he was going mad by now, with uncle Steve hurt - or worse, searching the world for them.

She closed her eyes, hoping for both, Danno and Steve to be all right, to find them soon. Until then, she had to be an adult here. For Charlie. She opened her eyes and looked down at her brother, who was now asleep in her arms. She thought about laying him down onto the mattress, but she didn't want to risk waking him up.

When she was sure Charlie wasn't going to wake up, she blinked and let the tears slide down her cheek, thinking about the last time she saw her Danno, how she giggled about him being overly protective. And then she thought about the last time she saw uncle Steve. How he'd dropped to his knees after the shot, how he collapsed into a puddle of his blood after the second one. God, she'd never seen so much blood.

But even worse was the third gunshot. The memory of her firing from her father's gun sent a chill down her spine. She'd never wanted to take someone's life. She only wanted to hurt the man, to prevent him from killing uncle Steve. She had to do that. She just had to. She had no choice.

_Oh, no. What have I done? Danno will be so disappointed in me._

She shook her head, trying to get all those images out of her head, but she knew they would stay there. Instead, she tried to picture her father, looking for them.

"Please hurry up, Danno," she whispered into the air.

* * *

Danny followed Junior back into the HQ in silence, trying his best to remain focused on finding Charlie and Grace instead of how scared they must be.

"Hey," Junior said when they arrived at the smart table, where Lou and Adam were standing. "You got something?"

Lou shook his head. "I ran the name Wright had given you, James Schofield, but he's not in the system and I can't find anything on him. It might be a fake name. And he used the public library to send the emails."

"What about the security footage in the library?" he asked.

"I called them. The receptionist said there's been a technical problem with their cameras for the last few weeks. They didn't get it fixed yet."

Danny's heart sank. Hours of effort spent interrogating Martinez, looking for the laptop, retrieving the IP address from the emails, it was all good for nothing.

"What about the phones I gave you?" Danny asked.

"All four of them had called the same number several times in the past forty-eight hours. But it's a burner," Adam said, his voice grim.

"Of course it is," Danny mumbled, hanging his head in despair.

"But I've got something else," Adam added.

Danny lifted his gaze up to Adam. "What?"

Adam's fingers danced on the keyboard for a moment, then he transferred the screen to the big one over their heads, security footage from the street playing on it. He stopped it at the moment a blue van took a turn to the street. "This van passed through this street just one block from Danny's house five times in about half an hour before Charlie and Grace were abducted."

"Either they're lost or…" Lou said.

"Waiting for the opportunity," Danny added, his chest tight. "Run the plate."

"I've done that already. The vehicle's been reported stolen forty-eight hours ago."

Danny resisted the urge to smash something. Of course it was stolen.

"Martinez said they had a van," Danny said. "He said they were supposed to leave it somewhere."

"I spoke to him again while you were gone," Lou said. "He said they were supposed to get the address after they got the kids. And he never left your house so he doesn't know where the others took them."

"Right." Danny's head was throbbing from it all. "How about Logan? Did he say something?"

"Same as Martinez," Lou said. "They either came with a matching lie or they're telling the truth."

Danny ran his hand over his face, forcing his brain to work harder. To think about what else could be done.

"I called Duke and he has people looking for the van already," Lou added.

Danny nodded, grateful for at least some information, although he knew it wasn't enough.

Junior's phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and checked the called ID, then he looked up at Danny, who's chest tightened. He knew who was calling straight away. "It's Tani," Junior said and answered the phone.

Danny watched him talking to her, not even realizing he'd been holding his breath until Junior ended the call.

"Steve is out of the surgery," Junior announced, but something in his face suggested it wasn't all. "But they won't let Tani see him yet and they won't say much about his condition. The doctor said they're still doing some tests to confirm-"

"To confirm what?" Danny snapped, his voice shaking.

Junior let out a frustrated sigh. "Steve's been without oxygen for quite some time and the doctor suspects the brain damage. Tani said he doesn't want to say more until they're sure and they want to speak to you as you're his next of kin."

Danny froze, his mind barely able to process the words. It felt like a knife right through his chest. Steve was alive for now, but what if the doctor's suspicion was right? What if-

No. He couldn't afford to think this way right now. Steve will be all right, just like Grace and Charlie. They'll be all together again.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists, rage bubbling inside his veins. He silently swore to himself he would find the people responsible for all this and make them pay.


	5. Chapter 5

Danny stared at the watch on his wrist, a sickly feeling washing over him. Eight a.m. Over eight hours since his kids were gone. And he had nothing. Every lead turned to be a dead end so far.

A knock on the door of Danny's office brought him back to reality. He lifted his head to see who'd knocked. It was Junior, calling him outside.

"You got something?" he asked when he joined the team by the smart table.

"Duke called," Junior said. "They've found the van, but it's empty. They dumped it on the side of the road. No prints, nothing to ID the rest of the guys."

Danny nodded but didn't say anything. What was there to say? Another dead end. Just like the emails. He was about to head back to the office and keep searching through the security footage when his phone buzzed. He fished for it in the pocket, his hands trembling as he hurried in case it was the kidnapper calling. But it's been a text message only. He opened it and his heart skipped a beat and all color drained from his face. It wasn't what he expected at all, yet it had the power to trigger his panic mode.

"Danny? What is it?"

He stared at the photograph of his best friend, asleep in a hospital bed, tubes attached to his body, a ventilator on his face. Below the photo, there was a brief text:

_You shouldn't leave your friend all alone right now, Detective_

It took his brain a moment to take in the content of the message. He dialed Tani's number and put the call on speaker when he got through the initial shock.

All eyes were on him, confused frowns on his colleague's faces, but there was no time to explain. He had to call Tani first.

"Danny?" Adam said. "What's going on? Is it them?"

Danny ignored the question.

Tani answered after the third ring. "Hey, I didn't hear any n-"

"Listen to me, Tani," Danny cut her off with urgency in his voice. "I want you to drop whatever you're doing right now and go to Steve's room. As fast as you can."

"But they won't let me in. I don't even know where his room is."

"Well, find out!" Danny snapped. "I don't care what the doctors have to say about that. Use the badge and the gun if you have to, but hurry up. Let me know when you're there."

He heard her talking to the staff on the other side of the line. His heart was racing while he waited for her to speak up again.

"I'm on my way," she said eventually. "What's going on?"

"Just go!"

It was hard to ignore the confused and scared faces of his colleagues as seconds dragged in silence.

"I'm here, Danny. I'm in Steve's room."

"Is he all right?"

"He doesn't look good, but-"

"What are you doing here?" Danny heard someone cut her off. Probably a nurse. "You can't be here."

"Yes, I can. I'm with Five-0," Tani protested.

"I'm calling the security," the unfamiliar voice said, but Tani ignored it.

"You sure he's okay?" Danny asked, his voice trembling.

"I don't know Danny. I think he's far from okay."

Danny ran his hand over his forehead, brushing off the beads of sweat forming on it. Someone's been in Steve's room. All it took to finish off a crazy SEAL was disconnecting one of those many tubes, or a syringe of a correct substance injected into his bloodstream. Nothing was easier than taking out an unconscious man lying alone in a hospital bed. "Tani, call the doctor. I want them to make sure he is all right. Make them do the blood tests and whatever the hell they have to."

"Okay, but why? What's going on?"

Danny shifted his gaze across the table, to Lou, Adam, and Junior, his hand trembling on the phone. "I got a text. It… It was a photo of Steve in the hospital bed. Someone's been in his room."

"What?" Lou exclaimed.

"Danny?" Tani's voice seemed more concerned than a few seconds before.

His chest tightened with fear. "What? Is he hurt?" Of course he was, that was a dumb question. But he was sure Tani knew what he'd meant by that.

_Please say he is all right._

"No. I mean, not as far as I can say, but, there is a photo on the bedside table. I'm sending it to you right now."

Danny waited for the picture to arrive and opened it up. He stared at it for a while, cold dread seeping into his veins, his breathing speeding up when he recognized the people on it. "I… I've got to go," he said, his heart and mind in panic. "Don't leave Steve out of your sight and have the doctor check on him immediately."

"On it," Tani said and ended the call.

Lou was the first one to speak. "What the hell just happened? What's on the photo?"

Danny sent the photo to the big screen for others to see, his shaking fingers fumbling across the phone. He had to focus on his breathing again, as he was close to hyperventilating by now.

A photo of two teenage boys, looking almost exactly the same, appeared on the screen. In the bottom right corner of the picture, there was a handwritten sentence that made Danny's blood run cold. Just a few simple words, that was all it took to make him lose it:

_An eye for an eye_

"I take it you know these guys," Adam said, watching Danny's panicked expression.

He swallowed hard, wishing he was wrong. He knew who'd put this photo into Steve's room. This couldn't be the person responsible for his children's disappearance. Because if it really was him, Danny knew there would be no calls, no demands, no blackmailing. Just pure revenge.

"Danny?"

"I…" He did his best to get his quickening breath under control. _Inhale. Exhale._ "Yeah, I know them."

"Okay, why don't you tell us who they are and what is it that pissed them off?" Lou said.

Danny squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, still focusing on getting air in and out of his lungs.

_In and out. In. Out. Repeat._

When he opened the eyes again, everyone in the room was staring at him, expecting the answer.

"Um," he gathered the strength to put his thoughts into words. "Charles and Timothy Haynes. Twin brothers. Six years ago, we've worked a case. Timothy's girlfriend broke up with him and he decided it was a good idea to kidnap the poor girl and his brother helped him to make it happen. We got her back, unharmed, but during the arrest the boys fought back, started the gunfire. I…" Breathe. In. Out. And again. "I shot Charles when he was trying to escape, trying to shoot his way out, and the kid didn't make it. Later I was the witness at the trial and my testimony got his brother Timothy ten years in Halawa, but he… uh, he…"

"Wait a second. Timothy Haynes. He was killed about two weeks ago. One of the inmates stabbed him to death," Junior added. "I saw it on the news."

Danny nodded, his chest tight with fear.

"But if they're dead, who's behind this and why?" Adam asked.

"Brian Haynes. Their father," Danny said, his voice shaking. He remembered all too well the day of the trial, the snarling face of the man who'd threatened him for taking his nineteen-years-old boys from him, but Danny didn't take it any more seriously than all the other empty threats from the criminals he'd arrested during his career. "He blames me for his sons' death."

"Oh, God." Lou brushed his hand over his face.

"I'll pull the security footage from the hospital and see if I can find something that would help us find him," Junior said and began to type on the keyboard.

"Okay, I'll call Duke," Adam offered. "I'll let him know who we're looking for."

Despite his best effort, tears began to burn in Danny's eyes. He turned around, trying to hide them from his friends and headed outside without a word.

"Where are you going?" Adam asked, but Danny ignored the question and walked away.

He stopped in the middle of the corridor and leaned his back against the wall, closing the eyes for a few moments. Why did this feel like Rick Peterson all over again? Why was this another result of doing his job? He blinked, and tears escaped his red-rimmed eyes as he slumped down onto the floor, resting his arms on his knees.

His frantic heartbeat matched his breathing rate as he forced his brain to work harder. To think about how to find his kids before it was too late. He couldn't even imagine what he would do if something happened to either of them, let alone if his past was the reason.

The glass door opened and Lou entered the corridor with a grim expression on his face, shutting the door behind him. He sat down next to Danny, his back leaning against the wall, and sighed. "I know it's hard. This thing Haynes had done with Steve, it was meant to distract you. He's playing with you. Trying to take your focus from what's important. But right now you need to stay calm and focus. We'll find them, Danny. You know we will."

Did he know? No, he didn't. His kids were kidnapped from his own house and he had no idea where to look for them. His best friend was shot and he couldn't even be there for him. Hell, he'd even let Haynes get to Steve at his most vulnerable state. Yet another ghost from his past wanted to take everything that mattered from him, and he was doing damn well. How could he stay calm knowing Haynes won't mind hurting his children? How could he focus on anything else but the horrible images in his head?

"I can't, Lou," he said, his voice broken. "I can't do this. They're my world, everything I've got. I can't… I just…"

"I know," Lou placed a hand on Danny's shoulder and it felt oddly comforting. "I know. But when Samantha was taken, this guy, a wise man, told me I could either mourn my daughter or do everything I could to get her back," Lou said.

"Sounds like a smart guy." Danny remembered that day well.

Lou gave him a sad smile. "Take your own advice, man."

Danny looked down at his trembling hands, knowing Lou was right.

"Look. Tani is with Steve. He's in good hands now and he's strong. He'd survived worse than a bullet and he'll be all right. And your kids… Every police officer on the island is looking for them right now. They're checking every port, the airport. There is no way he'd take them out of this island and I promise you… I promise you, Danny… We won't sleep until we check every single inch of this island, until we turn every possible place upside down and bring Grace and Charlie home, all right? "

Danny buried his face into the palms of his hands, desperately trying not to break apart and focus "Right," he said. "I know… I just…"

I wish Steve was here too, he thought.

It weren't Steve's skills he'd missed at the moment as much as his comfort. Every time something went wrong, Steve had been there and somehow made him believe they'd find a way to solve it. Together. And he knew Steve would do anything for his kids without a second thought. And right now, he'd appreciate him by his side, helping him get Grace and Charlie home, unleashing the angry SEAL mode. Instead, Danny was dreading the phone call from the doctor, worried he'd lose his best friend.

Danny could see the compassion in Lou's eyes. But there was nothing he could say or do that would make him feel better now. Not until he had his family back. All of them.

"Come on, get your ass up and let's find them." Lou stood up and outstretched his arm to help Danny on his feet.

Danny brushed the remaining tears from his face and followed Lou back to the rest of the team.

* * *

"Grace?"

The whispering voice of her brother woke her up. She didn't even realize she'd dozed off. Grace opened her eyes and found Charlie's big eyes staring at her. They were sitting on the bed side by side, their backs leaned against the wall behind them, Grace's arm around Charlie's shoulders.

"Grace," Charlie repeated.

"Yeah? You okay?" she asked.

Charlie nodded. "I'm hungry. Can I have that toast?" he pointed his finger to the tray their kidnappers have brought earlier.

Grace hesitated, but if they wanted to kill them, they would certainly choose a different way than poisoning the food. "Go ahead."

She watched him eating the toast, her mind whirring, wondering how long it's been since they've been taken and how were Danno and uncle Steve doing.

"Do you think Danno will come for us?" Charlie asked when he finished the food.

Faking a smile, Grace nodded. "Of course he will, Charlie. Always. But you need to be brave and patient, all right?"

"But how will he find us?"

Before falling asleep, that was what Grace was thinking about too. "He's a Detective. A good one," she said. "He'll find a way." She wasn't entirely convinced of her own words and she hated just waiting and doing nothing. Maybe she could find a way to help Danno to find them somehow, to speed it up. And then she got an idea.

"Charlie, I need you to do something for me," she said, a tiny spark of hope in her eyes. "We'll help Danno find us, but I really need you to be very, very brave for this. Can you do that?"

Charlie had a confused frown on his face but nodded eventually. "How?"

"You're really good at hide and seek, aren't you? I can never find you when we play."

Charlie half-smiled. "Yes."

"Great. We'll play it again."

Unsure if this will work, but determined to give it a go, she explained her idea to her little brother, and watched the fear grow in his big eyes. She was well aware of the threat from earlier today about them causing trouble, but she wasn't about to sit and wait. Not anymore.

"You think you can do that?" Grace asked, gently caressing Charlie's hair. "Danno and uncle Steve will be really proud of you."

"And if it doesn't work?"

Then they'd probably separate them and she'd be punished for her actions in some way, but she wasn't about to tell that to her brother. "It will work."

Charlie shook his head. "I don't know. I'm scared."

"I know," Grace said. "And I'm scared too, but it's all right. It's okay to be scared, even Danno and uncle Steve are scared sometimes."

"They are?"

She nodded, flashing him a smile. "Of course. But being scared means you're about to do something really, really brave."

"I want to be brave," Charlie said. "Like them."

Grace snuggled him in her arms proudly. "Good. Let's do it."

They both climbed down from the bed and Charlie took his place by the wall furthest from the door, while Grace moved the nightstand behind the door, where she took her position. "You ready?" she asked and waited for Charlie's hesitant nod, then banged her fist on the door.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Hey, is anyone there?"

Nothing.

"She banged at the door again, harder. "Hello? You there? I need to use the bathroom." She called out again and again, until she heard the steps on the corridor.

Her heart beating faster, she readied herself and picked up the wooden nightstand, trying to focus. She only had one chance to make this work and one mistake could cost them both a lot. But she wasn't about to let anything happen to Charlie.

The lock turned in the door and a second later the door opened up inside the room, while she was hiding behind it, waiting for the man to step inside.

"What's with the noise?" the man snarled. "I told you to be quiet, didn't I?"

Charlie's eyes locked with the man's in the door and as instructed by his big sister, he nodded just when the man was by the edge of the door.

Taking a deep breath and channeling all the strength she had, Grace leaped up and turned, smashing the nightstand right into the guy's face. The wooden corner hit him right on the side of the head, and she watched him crumple to the floor with an angry growl. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but it would daze him for a couple of seconds. That was all she needed.

"Now, Charlie!" she called out. "Run."

Her brother hurried toward the open door and out to the corridor, while she reached down to the man's back pocket on his jeans, grabbing the phone that she'd seen there last time he'd been in the room. Then she jumped back to her feet and slammed the door shut. The key was left in the door, which was even better than she'd expected. She locked the door just when the man on the other side reached for the door handle, trying to jerk it open.

"Open the door!" he yelled. "Open it right now, you little-"

By the time he finished the sentence, Grace grabbed Charlie's hand and they both rushed to the other side of the corridor, carefully listening for the sounds and voices while looking for a good place to hide.

"You're doing great, Charlie," she said, looking at her frightened little brother. "Now we just need to find a place to hide and call Danno."

They made their way through the house until Grace heard the steps coming from the next room. Her breath speeding up, she dragged Charlie to the closest room to them, which was luckily unlocked. It was a laundry room, with a tiny window on the top. Not big enough to climb through it, but at least she could use it to have a look outside.

The steps stopped just behind the door and Charlie's eyes watered as their gazes met. Her heart thudding in her chest like it was about to jump out, she gestured him to be quiet with the index finger on her lips. After a few seconds, the person behind the door walked away and Grace sighed in relief, one hand snuggling Charlie close to her, other one dialing their father's number.

* * *

Danny's heart clenched when he saw the unknown number on the screen of his phone. "Junior?"

"I'm on it, Sir." Junior's fingers quickly danced across the keyboard, getting the call ready to be traced.

Seconds passed and the phone kept ringing. "Come on, come on." Danny held his breath, hoping for this to work.

Lou and Adam watched Junior working, their bodies almost as tense as Danny's.

"Go ahead," Junior said.

Danny put the phone down on the smart table and turned the speaker on. "Williams," he answered impatiently, his whole body tensing with anxiety.

"Danno?"

Grace's whispering voice was like a slap into his face. "Grace? Grace! Are you and Charlie all right? Huh? You all right, monkey?"

"We're all right. But I don't know how much time we have." Her voice was barely audible.

"Time? What-"

"I have the phone of one of them," she cut him off. "I don't know where we are, it's some kind of a house. I think it's not very big and it has a basement. I can see the trees outside, a forest. But no other houses from where I'm looking. And I can't hear the motorway but I think… I think I can hear the ocean somewhere in the distance, but I'm not sure. And horses. Yes, I've heard horses a while ago."

It took Danny's brain a few moments to process the information. He expected the kidnappers on the other side of the line, Brian Haynes himself if he was lucky, not his baby girl listing everything she could tell him without even asking her to do so.

"It's a burner," Junior said. "We can still locate the approximate area but I won't get the exact position. And I need more time."

"Danno?"

"Yes, monkey, I can hear you." He shook his mind back to clarity. "Are you sure you're both all right? You're not hurt?"

"No, but I can already hear them looking for us." Her breathing sped up and Danny had to hold on to the edges of the table, squeezing it hard to remain as calm and focused as possible. "Please find us soon."

"I'll find you, monkey. I promise. Just hang on a little longer, all right?" Danny's heart almost broke when he heard a quiet whimper of his son.

"Danno?" Charlie cried out, keeping his voice low. "I'm scared. I wanna go home."

Danny's eyes watered. "I know. I'll get you home soon, big guy. Listen to your sister for now, okay? I love you."

"Danno, someone's coming," Grace whispered.

Danny turned to Junior, who shook his head. They needed more time. "Listen to me, monkey," he said. "I need more time to trace the call, okay? Try to find somewhere to hide the phone and leave it there. Can you do that?"

"I think."

"Okay, do it now, Grace. I love you. I'll be there soon, all right? I promise."

He heard rustling on the other side of the line, then steps, the door opening, the quiet breathing he assumed were his kids in hiding. Then came the unfamiliar voices of the two men.

"Why don't we just kill them finally? The boss wants them dead anyway."

The look in Danny's eyes was a silent plea to Junior telling him he got the location by now, but the young man shook his head again.

"All in good time, pal. He's not done with their daddy yet."

"You should've let me teach the little princess a lesson and we wouldn't be looking for them now."

"Maybe. But we don't have to look for them anymore. Look over there."

Danny braced himself for what he knew was about to come, but nothing could prepare him for that.

There was a short pause followed by screams of both of his children that were tearing Danny's heart apart. He resisted the urge to yell, to call their names, to threaten those bastards. Because that would mean they would find the phone immediately and his best chance to find them would be gone.

"Nooo! Please no!"

"Let me go! Charlie? Charlie!"

Every word felt like a blade ripping his insides out of his body and it was impossible not to notice everyone in the room staring at him as though expecting his legs to give out. And if he was honest with himself, he wasn't far from it. The pain in his chest caused by the desperate cries of the most precious people in his life was physical, cutting to the core of his soul. He wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy.

"Hey, what's that?" He heard the voice again and footsteps becoming louder.

After a few more seconds, the line went dead.


	6. Chapter 6

His legs feeling like jelly, Danny had to grip the side of the smart table for the support, to make sure he wouldn't crumple on the floor. A strange mix of emotions flooded him after that call. He was proud at one side - for his kids fighting back, but on the other, there was so much fear, anguish, even anger at Grace for pulling such a risky move.

_The boss wants them dead anyway._ Those words resonated through his still shocked mind. He had to find them. He just had to. And fast.

"Please tell me you got it." Danny's tear-filled eyes reached Junior's as he fought to pull himself together. There was no time for this now. _Focus. Think._

"I narrowed it down to north-east of the island, but it's still a lot of ground to cover," Junior said as he circled the area with his finger. "Over here."

"Okay," Danny searched the map frantically, looking for anything helpful. "We know there's a forest, right? Maybe near the ocean and… what about the horses? Is there any place that keeps horses around?"

Junior zoomed in and lifted his head with a hint of a smile after a moment. "Bingo! Kualoa Ranch. It's close to the beach and there is plenty of forest and a mountain on the other side of the road."

"Grace said she couldn't see other houses and couldn't hear the motorway. Try to find some remote houses, cottages, or anything that fits the description in that area."

"Working on it." Junior's worked quickly, tapping at the touchscreen for a few seconds, then pointed at the spot on the map. "I'd say here is a good place if you want some privacy."

"What about this house over here?" Lou chimed in, pointing at the other place closeby.

"That seems as good as the first one to me," Adam said. "It looks like a small farmhouse too."

His heart rate speeding up, Danny looked at his colleagues with determination on his face. "Go gear up. Lou, Adam, take the first place. Call Duke and let him send back-up over there. The same goes for the second house. Junior, you and I take that one."

With all his heart Danny hoped they weren't wrong and one of those places would be the one. The voice of a stranger from the other side of the line was still replaying in his head over and over again. _Why don't we just kill them finally? The boss wants them dead anyway._ Chances were that this was their one and only opportunity to find his kids before it was too late. And they will find them. The other option was simply unimaginable.

* * *

After fifteen minutes of speeding along the busy roads, Danny and Junior reached their destination. Danny killed the engine and took a moment to look at the house in front of them. A simple farmhouse wasn't much bigger than Danny's house. He saw a pickup truck parked in front of the house, but there were no guards outside.

Danny's fear and anxiety were growing every second. What if they were wrong about the place? What if they relocated after the call? What if it was too late? What if…

No. He couldn't afford to think like that. Trying to get his quickening breath until control again, he locked his gaze with Junior's.

"HPD will be here in about five minutes," Junior announced.

Five minutes. If they had that long. "I'm not waiting any longer," Danny replied without the slightest hesitation.

"That's what I thought." The younger man got out of the car and took two rifles out of the trunk. He passed one of the weapons to Danny. "Let's go."

Danny took it and began moving closer to the house, the weapon held high and ready to shoot. He crept along the wall and stopped by the front door with Junior on the other side. He took a deep breath and nodded, signaling Junior he was ready.

Junior tried the door - it was unlocked. He swung it open and let Danny barge in first, then followed the suit.

Side by side, Danny and Junior searched the ground floor. Kitchen, living room, a small bathroom. All clear. No sign of anyone in there made Danny's heart beat faster. Someone was supposed to be there, right? Unless they were wrong. Or maybe Lou and Adam were at the right place.

The last door on the floor led to the basement. Basement. Grace mentioned one. Danny signaled Junior he was going down and ordered the younger man to search the top floor meanwhile.

He held his weapon in the air and cautiously moved down the stairway. One by one, Danny searched all three rooms down there, two of which had an empty bed inside. Why would someone keep a bed in the basement? Unless… Danny gritted his teeth and fought hard to remain focused. He couldn't be too late.

When he made his way back up, a noise coming from upstairs caught his attention. Footsteps. More than one pair. Grunts. Breaking glass. A fight?

"Junior?" he called out and lunged forward to help his colleague when he didn't get an answer. "Junior!"

Still no answer. Danny picked up the pace.

He didn't know why he looked out of the window at that moment, but he did. And what he saw made his heart skip a beat and his body froze mid-movement. He'd swear he saw Grace disappearing behind a corner of the barn behind the house. Or was it only his mind imagining what he wanted to see?

Gunfire started upstairs, shaking Danny's mind to clarity.

Torn between helping out a colleague in trouble and following his instincts, Danny hesitated for a few moments. The sounds of a fight and struggle were still coming from upstairs, interrupted by another volley of gunfire. But Junior could take care of himself. He was a former SEAL after all.

Danny sprang toward the back door and out, holding his rifle ready as he sped across the land and behind the barn where he thought he'd seen Grace. But no one was in sight and other than an old, rusty RV in the far corner, there was nothing. The vehicle hadn't moved for years and the land wasn't used to grow anything. It's obviously been a long time since this farm had been used.

Danny gritted his teeth. This could be his only chance to find his children and they weren't here. He was too late. He was about to turn around and head back to the house, see if Junior still needed a hand when he heard the sound of angry voices from somewhere behind the RV.

He sprinted ahead, reached the vehicle, and pressed himself against its side. He heard another angry shout, and then a voice that filled his heart with relief and terror at the same time. It was Charlie's voice, shouting out, "Leave her alone!"

Danny edged around, itching to run, but unable to shake off his instinctive caution. Size up the situation before acting. He reached the corner of the RV and peered around it.

He saw six people. But Brian Haynes wasn't one of them.

Danny's stomach flip-flopped when he saw his son. Charlie was held by one of the men on the side. His tear-stained cheeks were breaking Danny's heart.

Ten feet ahead of them were three remaining men Danny didn't recognize and Grace. One of them was straddling her, his knees pressing down onto her arms at the elbows. Another one was crouched down behind them, trying to grab hold of her flailing legs. He was laughing, telling her to take it easy, that he'd warned her about what was coming if she caused any trouble. The third man had an angry snarl on his face, saying they don't have time for this and have to get out of here. But his words faded as Danny's focus was solely on his baby girl being hurt.

Danny felt a sensation, like a switch flicking in his head. His legs had been sprinting even before his brain processed the scene in front of him. His mind numb with fear and rage, adrenaline fueling his entire being, Danny ran toward them faster than he thought he was able to, his weapon ready to fire.

Unable to see or hear anything but the desperate calls of the people he loved the most, Danny lost himself in a red mist. All thinking was pushed into the back of his brain and he was now acting purely on instinct.

He wasn't near enough to aim properly and he didn't want to risk hitting his children, so he fired a few rounds into the air to get their attention as he rushed toward the group. It had the desired effect.

The men looked up, half angry, half surprised, and the one standing aside began fumbling for his pistol.

Danny closed the distance between them in three paces, took him by the shoulders, and swept his legs. The man went down, landing on his shoulder blades, and Danny drove his fist into his gut, winding him. He wanted to hurt them. Kill them. But it was the last thing he wanted to do in front of his kids. Not unless he absolutely had to. They've seen too much already. No need to see their father kill a person. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and took out his handgun instead.

Down by the trees, the younger one of the two holding Grace down let go of her legs, fear replacing the cruelty in his face. Grace gave an almighty buck and the other guy was barely able to hold her down.

The last man let go of Charlie and took a step toward Danny, raising his fist.

All Danny wanted to do was to shoot him right into his head, and it took all his control to resist the urge. Instead, he ducked the blow and spun around, smashing the back of his gun into the guy's temple, dazing him momentarily. The next second Danny's fist landed in the man's face twice in quick succession, sending him to the ground, spluttering blood.

"Danno." Charlie stared at Danny with horror in his fear-widened eyes.

In the corner of his eyes, Danny already saw another man lifting his pistol in Danny's direction. If it came to shooting, he had to get his kids out of here. "Run, Charlie," he said and focused on the man about to shoot him.

Charlie did as told, sprinting toward the house and at the same time, the shot rang out. Danny ducked and the bullet missed him. He returned the fire, aiming low, and a scream cut through the air as the man's knee buckled and his pants stained red. He dropped to the floor, releasing the grip on the gun and Danny kicked his pistol away from the man's reach.

"Drop your weapon!"

Danny turned to look across the hollow at the man who had Grace pinned down earlier. He had drawn a pistol, yanked Grace to her feet, and jammed the muzzle up against her temple.

Danny breathed in and out, regulating his frantic pulse. "Are you all right, monkey?"

She nodded, her eyes wide with terror.

"She isn't fine," the man called back as the two others scrambled back to their feet, ignoring the cries of the guy with a gunshot through his kneecap. "Put that gun down. Now!"

Danny didn't. Haynes wasn't here. Surely these four wouldn't dare to kill her without his permission, would they?

"You don't put that gun down and I'll blow her brains out," the man said.

Danny held his aim steady. He didn't have many choices. If he was quick enough, he could take out the two men standing in the open. They weren't armed, at least as fat as Danny could tell. It'd be an easy shot. But it'd probably spook the one holding Grace into firing. He couldn't risk it. The second choice was to take a shot at the man holding his daughter and once she was out of the firing line, take care of the other two. The third option was just do as told, but getting himself killed or captured wouldn't help his kids in any way, plus there was no guarantee it'd stop them from hurting Grace.

Grace was much smaller than the man behind her and she only offered a partial shield for him to hide behind. Danny had a good view of half of his head, his right shoulder and his right leg. He was about ten feet away and the light was pretty good, which helped his accuracy.

He assessed the options quickly. He held his gun steady and adjusted the aim, doing his absolute best to keep his emotions inside, trying not to let his fear show on his face.

The guy was panicking now. He pulled Grace closer to his chest and started to back away to the trees. "I'm not bluffing," he said.

Danny forced himself to breathe. In. Out. Repeat. He didn't want to kill the guy in front of his daughter, but if it meant getting her to safety, he would. His finger tightened around the trigger.

A gunshot rang out.

But Danny was pretty sure it wasn't him who'd fired. And Grace's shrill scream calling his name along with his shirt staining crimson confirmed it.


	7. Chapter 7

The bullet struck Danny in the left arm. The impact sent him stumbling forward two paces, jerking up for balance and his right hand opened up involuntarily, dropping the gun.

"No!" Grace's desperate scream filled the air. "Danno!"

Pain raced up his arm and into his shoulder, a great bellow of it that dropped him down to the ground just as a second shot whistled above his head. His instincts took over and, ignoring the shriek of agony, he rolled away to his right, fumbling for the rifle that was still hung over his shoulder. A third shot slammed into the earth just ahead of him, throwing muddy sod into his face. He scrambled for grip, his feet sliding on wet grass as he pushed off and threw himself behind the RV, out of sight of whoever it was who had shot at him from the other side of the hollow.

But all four men he'd been fighting were on the same side of the RV as he was, though. One was still on the floor, clutching on his bloody knee, but the other three were out in the open and they still had Grace. Danny couldn't open fire at them without risking Grace being hit accidentally. The one holding her shoved Grace away from him to the other man, took aim, and fired.

Danny ducked.

The window above him shattered, glass falling down onto him.

He was breathing heavily, biting his lip as he tightened the grip on his weapon. The sleeve of his shirt was already soaked through with blood, and he could feel the warm stickiness of it as it slid down his ribs to his belt. He began lifting the rifle, but the men were still way too close to Grace to pull the trigger and they obviously knew it and used it to their advantage.

The man fired again and the bullet sank into the metal of the vehicle right next to Danny's head.

"That's enough!" someone shouted.

Danny looked in the direction of the voice and his heart sank. It was Brian Haynes, coming from behind the RV, a rifle in his hand that explained who'd shot Danny. But it wasn't him who made Danny freeze. It was Haynes' goon, dragging crying Charlie by his arm as they all marched toward the group.

The three of them stopped and Haynes aimed the muzzle in Charlie's direction. "You've got three seconds to drop the gun, Williams," he said with an angry snarl on his face. "Three."

"You touch either of them and I swear to God, I'll rip you apart with my bare hands," Danny threatened, fighting not to tremble, not to show the fear on his face, but he knew he had no other choice than comply now.

"Two."

Charlie's whimper was like a knife into Danny's heart. He looked to the right, where Haynes' hired men had a gun trained at his daughter, then back to his left, where Haynes kept the aim on his son. "All right," he said and complied reluctantly, then lifted his arms into the air, his brain on fire, heart clutching in his chest.

"Smart move, Williams," Haynes said. "Now kick the gun away and get on your knees, hands behind your head."

Danny did as told again, grimacing in pain as he lifted his wounded arm. His heart was beating frantically against his ribcage, his mind racing to figure out the next move. He wished Steve was here and had his back. And where the hell was Junior? Was he all right? What if something happened to him too?

Haynes turned to the guy holding Grace, then to the guy on his side holding Charlie. "If he moves, shoot them both," he ordered and Danny got the message.

"I can see you're impatient, Detective," Haynes said, walking casually closer to Danny. "I was about to invite you to the party tonight, but since you're here already, we can start earlier."

"What do you want?" Danny barked, his voice trembling despite his best effort.

"I think you know exactly what I want." There was a coldness in Haynes' voice as well as his eyes. "I want payback for my boys."

"Haynes, please," Danny begged, holding his gaze. "Please let them go. You've got beef with me, I get it. I really do. Put a bullet in my head if you want but leave my children out of it."

Charlie choked a loud sob that was breaking Danny's heart.

"Did you leave my boys out of it?" Haynes said, his face contorted in anger. "Did you?"

Danny clenched his fists, immediately regretting it when pain flared down his arm. How could Haynes compare two criminals who'd thought kidnapping a girl and shooting at police officers was all right to two innocent kids?

"No, you didn't," Haynes answered his own question. "You hunted them both down. You're the reason Tim got killed because you've put him into the jail. To rot in that hell hole. And you yourself killed my Charlie, isn't that irony?" Haynes gestured toward Charlie, whose big, wet eyes were fixed on Danny.

"It's not true," Danny protested, trying his best to keep it together and failing miserably. "I just wanted to arrest him. I didn't want to shoot, but he didn't give me a choice… I didn't aim to kill, but he-"

"Oh, you didn't aim to kill. That's nice. But Charlie's gone, isn't he? Maybe that's not what you had in mind when you pulled the trigger but that's what'd happened. And Tim, my poor Tim. He wasn't cut out for prison life. He was young. Too young and those animals in there-" Haynes paused to regain his composure. "I knew they'd rip him apart. And it was all your fault."

Danny fought a sudden bout of dizziness that washed over him. The blood kept gushing out of the wound on his arm and if he didn't stop the bleeding soon, he'd slowly bleed out. But he had more pressing concerns now. "I… I'm sorry, all right?" he said, his voice trembling with fear of losing the ones he loved the most.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Williams. Not this time."

Danny's gaze shifted from side to side, checking Grace and Charlie. The scared looks in his kids' eyes were the one he'd never forget. It'd haunt him for the rest of his life. And the guns trained at both of them were so out of place - the weapons were never supposed to be this close to his kids. Ever.

"Please," he begged, looking up on Haynes, tears burning in the back of his eyes. "You don't have to do this. Let them go."

Haynes laughed. "Oh, I know I don't have to. But I want to. I want to see your face when I take everything you care about from you."

Danny shook his head, unable to find the words. Pleas and threats wouldn't make a difference with Haynes. And if he tried to make a move, his children were as good as dead.

"In fact," Haynes said. "It's too bad I didn't know McGarrett was in your house when my men went in. I would've ordered them to bring him in alive. That would be much more fun than letting him die in a hospital bed while you're here and can't witness his death too."

Danny felt like he was going to be sick. The words hurt him in a way even a bullet couldn't. Even more, knowing where this was heading. "Please," he tried again.

Haynes ignored him. "But nevermind," he said, gesturing to Grace and Charlie. "I've still got the rest of your loved ones you can watch die before I put a bullet through your head."

His body tensed and nausea crept into his stomach. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't hold the tears anymore. He blinked and let them run down his cheek. "Haynes, listen to me for a minute, okay? Please, ju-"

"Shut up!" Haynes snarled. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the house and turned back. "Too bad we don't have more time. I was hoping for more privacy but these idiots messed it up." He gestured at the group of four men with a palm of his hand. "And I guess we're about to have company very soon, so I'll just get this over with."

"Come on," Danny cried out. "Don't do this, Haynes. Take me, please. Not them. They're just kids."

But Haynes didn't listen to him. He pointed at the spot about fifteen feet in front of Danny. "Bring them over there."

His goons dragged both of Danny's children where instructed, ignoring their futile attempts to free themselves. They shoved them down onto the ground and Danny leaned forward instinctively, but a gun was pointed at both of them again in an instant. He froze again.

There were too many of them and too far, and the weapons aimed at the two most precious people in his life made it impossible for him to even change his uncomfortable position, let alone attack. Whatever he did, whatever move he made, he didn't see any other result than his children being shot right in front of him.

If he ever needed a miracle, it was now.

Grace sat on her haunches and snuggled Charlie in her arms protectively, letting the tears flow freely as she watched Danny, whose heart shattered into million pieces with that picture.

"Please." Another desperate attempt to plead for their lives. If he could, he'd give his life for theirs at any given moment. "Please, don't. I'll do anything you want," Danny yelled. "Anything!"

"This is what I want, Williams," Haynes said. "This is all I've wanted since the day you've killed my son."

This had to be Danny's worst nightmare ever. Just a really bad dream. Surely he'd wake up soon, right? Because this couldn't be happening for real.

Haynes turned to Grace just as she looked up to him, cradling Charlie whose face was sunk in her shoulder, preventing him from looking. "Tell goodbye to daddy," he said in a tone so cold it was hard to believe anyone could be that uncaring. Then Haynes looked up at the goons standing above Danny's kids and gave an unspoken command for them to go ahead.

They lifted their guns.

"No!" Danny shouted and despite clear instructions not to move he began to lift himself up. But before he even made it to his feet, something hard hit him in the back of his head and the force sent him back to the ground on his hands and knees and the impact sent a wave of agony shooting up Danny's injured arm. "No!" The shout came from the very bottom of his soul, born from pure desperation and fear.

This was it. He failed.

It was over and he failed miserably. He failed the people he loved the most. He failed his family and he was about to pay for it dearly.

His panicked gaze searched for Grace's eyes to apologize for what he'd done, to let her know how much he loved her and her little brother. But she didn't look at him anymore. Her eyes were shut and face partially hidden in Charlie's hair.

Just when the men were about to pull the trigger, Danny heard the voice coming from somewhere further behind him. "Five-0, drop the weapons!"

Lou. It was Lou.

And it gave him a second. Just enough of a distraction for Danny to act.

Danny scrambled back to his feet and sprinted toward the two men standing above his children. They both readjusted their aim in panic and their guns spat out at Danny, but their movement was hurried and not accurate.

It started the gunfire behind him. He didn't know whether it was Haynes and his people shooting, or Five-0 or HPD and he didn't care, didn't dare to look back. His focus was only on Grace and Charlie. As soon as the gunfire began, Charlie let out a scared scream and Grace pulled him down, laying them both on the ground face down.

Danny barged into one of his targets in full speed. The impact sent him reeling backward until his back hit the tree and knocked the wind out of his lungs momentarily. Holding onto man's neck with one hand and keeping the hand with a gun at bay with the other, Danny looked over his shoulder to check on the other man and watched his head snap backward. Half a second later Danny realized there was blood gushing out of the guy's forehead as his body dropped to the ground.

Meanwhile, the one in Danny's hold regained the composure and began wriggling, trying to free himself from Danny's hold. But no one could stop Danny right now. Not until Grace and Charlie were safe. Holding onto the man's wrist, Danny lifted it up and smashed the guy's hand against the tree. Then again, and again, until his grip loosened and the pistol clattered to the ground. Danny tightened his grip on the guy's neck, crushing his windpipe, while he swung his fist into his ribs and chest, ignoring the screaming pain it caused in his wounded arm.

The man's face was now red and his fingers fumbling around Danny's, trying to get a little air into his lungs, but with Danny fuelled by rage, he didn't stand a chance. Danny aimed his next punch to the man's temple and after a crashing sound of the blow, the unconscious man crumpled to the floor.

Breathing heavily, clutching on his wound, Danny turned around in an instant and realized the gunfire had stopped. Lou, Adam, and two HPD officers Danny didn't know were rushing toward them, but none of the bad guys was standing anymore.

More importantly, Grace and Charlie were alive. Still laying face down in a hug, sobbing, but alive.

"Grace," Danny croaked and realized how shaky and hoarse his voice was and tried to gain control of it as he threw himself on his knees right beside his kids. "Charlie."

Grace lifted her head slowly, cautiously checking out the situation, then sat up and encouraged her brother to follow when all she saw was Danny reaching for them. She swung herself into Danny's arms and Charlie followed suit just a second later.

"Danno," Charlie and Grace whispered almost in unison as he held them like he was never about to let go ever again.

His whole body was trembling as adrenaline faded slowly, and he had to fight to regain his composure just enough to be able to speak even though his voice felt stuck behind a lump in his throat. "Are you all right? You hurt?" he asked, his eyes darting between the two of them.

"We're okay now," Grace ensured him, but her voice was shaking and tears still flowing down her cheeks.

"I wanna go home," Charlie murmured, his face lost in the crook of Danny's neck. "Can we please go home, Danno?"

Danny pressed a kiss on top of Charlie's head. "We'll go home soon, I promise," he said. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"

Holding onto Danny for dear life, Charlie just shook his head. Grace opened her mouth to say something when Danny noticed something that made his blood run cold. Blood on the sleeve of her pajamas, finger-shaped bruises on her neck and jaw. A knot formed in his stomach. "Monkey wh-"

"I'm all right, Danno. I promise," Grace cut him off. She pointed her finger at the bloody stain on her sleeve. "That's not mine. I bit one of them."

Danny raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything. They'll talk about it later. They'll tell him what had happened and he'll tell them how sorry he was for not being there, for being the reason of them being kidnapped.

He lifted his head up to look around. Lou and Adam stood just a few steps from them, their faces relieved. The HPD officers had their perps cuffed already. Well, those three that weren't dead anyway.

Then it clicked. Something was missing here. Someone.

"Where's Junior?"

Adam and Lou exchanged a look Danny didn't like and his heart seized in his chest once again today. He left him. He'd known Junior had some trouble and he'd left him. If something happened to him, it'd be Danny's fault.

"He's been hit," Adam started and Danny felt bile creeping up his throat. "But he'll be all right. Got one to the chest. He was wearing a vest but the shot must've been from close enough to knock him out. One of the HPD officers found him unconscious in the house. They're securing the house now and paramedics are checking Junior out. He's awake and fighting them to let him go, so I'm pretty sure he'll be fine."

Vest. He had a vest. He was going to be okay. Danny struggled to calm his breathing down anyway. Junior could've died because he wasn't there. Again. He wasn't there for his kids when they were taken. He wasn't there for Steve when he got shot and he wasn't there for him in a hospital either. And he wasn't there for Junior when he needed his help.

"Danny?" Lou said with concern in his voice. "You okay? That arm doesn't look good."

Danny could feel the blood against his skin, a wet slickness soaked through his shirt, the pain pulsing in his entire arm, but none of it mattered right now. His children were safe, that was all that mattered. Well, that and Steve pulling through. And there was one more thing that mattered now, and that led him to ignoring Lou's question and asking his own. "Where's Haynes?"

He couldn't miss the bastard wasn't amongst dead nor the arrested. And there was no way in hell Danny would let him get away with what he'd done to his family.

"I don't know," Adam replied.

One of the officers turned around and looked at Danny. "I saw him run into the woods," he said. "But I figured the priority was the safety of the children."

Danny nodded. It was. It was always his priority. But now, knowing they were safe, he couldn't let Haynes run away. Danny wouldn't live the rest of his life in fear of Haynes coming back to finish what he'd started.

"Which way?" he asked.

"The officer pointed into the direction. "But it was a while ago, he could be anywhere by now."

Danny stood up and helped Charlie and Grace on their feet too, then looked at his colleagues. "Get them away from here. Have paramedics look at them, just in case. I'll be right back."

"Danny you can stay with the kids, we'll take care of Haynes," Adam offered.

"No. He's mine," Danny growled, feeling the anger bubbling inside him.

"I'm going with you," Lou said.

"No," Charlie protested, wrapping his arms around Danny's waist. "Don't go, Danno."

Grace gave Danny a worried look, then lightly touched Charlie's shoulder. "Come on, Charlie," she said. "Danno will be all right. This man is a really bad guy and Danno needs to stop him from hurting people. Do you understand?"

Charlie nodded and Danny's jaw almost dropped. When did his baby girl grow up?

"I know Danno needs to catch the bad guy." Charlie turned to Grace. "But I don't want to be alone."

"You won't be alone, big guy," Danny said. "You'll be with uncle Adam and uncle Junior. And Grace. I'll be back in a few minutes, all right?"

"Promise?"

"I promise." Danny kissed him again, then did the same with Grace. "I love you both so much."

"I love you too." Once again, his children said it almost in unison and Danny forced himself to let go of them.

"Be careful, please," Grace added and gave Danny a sad smile. There was something in her eyes Danny couldn't quite place and he'd ask her what was it later, but he had to go now.

Danny waited for Charlie to take Adam's hand, then walked over to his rifle that was laying on the ground. He picked it up and nodded at Lou. "Let's go."

"What about your arm?"

"I'm good," Danny said, well aware of his wound still bleeding and the necessity of stopping it, but it'd have to wait. "Just a scratch."

Lou lifted his eyebrow, doubt obvious in his eyes, but didn't protest. He knew better than trying to persuade Danny to tend to his wounds and let Haynes get away. "Let's find that son of a bitch!"


	8. Chapter 8

Branches slapped and scraped as Danny ploughed between bushes, determined to keep going until Haynes was either in the cuffs or dead. He kept running, his legs burning and the pain in his wounded arm pulsing every time his feet struck the earth.

His arm ached. It really ached, but he didn't think it was getting any worse. It could wait. His priority had to be the safety of his family and as long as Haynes was free, his children and Steve were far from safe. So he forced himself to move. One step at a time.

Lou followed suit, his occasional worried glances not escaping Danny's attention. But he didn't say a word as they kept searching the woods.

Neither of them was very good at tracking someone. That was Steve's thing, not theirs. But Steve wasn't here. He was terribly hurt and lying in a hospital bed with life-threatening injuries because of Haynes. And if they didn't catch the bastard, he might come after Steve or Grace and Charlie again. Danny couldn't let that happen no matter what.

Feeling his strength waning slowly, every step more and more difficult, he took a deep breath and forced all the pain and nausea in his stomach aside, focusing solely on one single goal. Find Haynes to protect his family. Nothing else mattered.

_Just keep going. It's just a scratch._

His shirt sleeve was soaked in blood completely and he could feel the thick, sticky liquid wetting his ribs where the arm touched his side. But the bleeding slowed down finally, although not entirely.

A new, more forceful wave of dizziness washed over him, causing him to stumble for the balance. Luckily he was able to regain his footing before falling down.

"Danny?" There was a genuine concern in Lou's voice as the man stopped and kept staring at him. "You okay?"

Danny's stomach heaved and his knees threatened to buckle under his weight. "Fine," he lied. "Just stumbled on a branch. Let's keep going." His own voice sounded alien to him, echoing in his ears. Lou must've noticed his sweat-slicked forehead and slightly long gaps between his words as it took a little longer to his fuzzy brain to form them into a sentence.

Lou stepped forward, but not to chase Haynes at it seemed. He approached Danny, grabbing him by the good arm to stop him from moving further. "You're not looking good, man. Let's get that arm looked at. Haynes is gone anyway. We'll find him, okay? But let's take care of you first. You can't keep chasing the bastard if you're dead."

"No." Danny shook his head and regretted it immediately as the movement set the word around him into a spinning motion. "No. I… I need to-" he mumbled in protest. "I… can't stop now." Danny freed his arm from Lou's grip, looked around him, deciding the direction he thought was right, and holding his rifle ready, he made a step forward.

A sudden weakness hit him harder than he expected and his legs almost gave out under him. He reached for the nearest tree, planting the palm against it for support, then his shoulder.

"Danny!" This time there was urgency in Lou's voice. "Come on, man. You look like a ghost."

"I'm fine," Danny growled between his rapid breaths.

Lou didn't buy it though. "You promised Charlie you'll be back soon. You keep going and next time your boy sees you is in the box."

Danny frowned at that, swallowing through growing pain. He knew Lou was right.

"Take your shirt off," Lou ordered. "Let me have a look. I'm not letting you make a single step until I'm sure that you can do so."

_It'll be just a minute._ "Okay," he said, his shaking fingers unbuttoning his shirt as quickly as he could.

But he froze mid-way, catching the glimpse of something moving in the distance. Someone.

_Haynes._

"Danny!"

Running on adrenaline and fuelled by rage and fear, Danny barely registered Lou's voice when he sprinted where he'd seen Haynes. His breathing ragged, body aching and tired, vision growing fuzzier every second, he still kept running in between the trees and bushes.

He couldn't afford to lose Haynes. Not when he was this close.

There. He saw him again, this time for sure. Danny lifted his weapon and fired a volley of rounds at his target, but none of them seemed to hit Haynes. Damn it. He was too far.

Another violent bout of dizziness was almost too much to fight off, but not even that could stop Danny now. He picked up the pace, briefly hearing Lou's steps and labored breathing somewhere close behind him.

Danny got another clear view of Haynes, this time definitely in firing range. He slowed down, steadied his aim on the moving target, and was about to pull the trigger when his vision blurred and his shaking knees gave out.

"Danny!" Lou was by his side almost immediately, his gaze shifting between Danny and Haynes, who got further and further by every passing second.

Sprawled on the ground, Danny managed to roll onto his back. He could feel the cold sweat forming on his body, mixing with blood. He released a painful groan as he tried to push himself up unsuccessfully.

Lou's attention was now solely on Danny. He crouched down beside him, his firm hand pushing Danny back down. "No, no. You stay down."

"Lou," Danny croaked, surprised how weak the sound came out of his throat. "Go get him. I… I'll be fine."

"Ain't gonna happen," Lou protested. "I'm not letting you bleed out." Ignoring Danny's weak protests, he undid the rest of the buttons on Danny's shirt and took it off to reveal the wound on Danny's left arm. His jaw dropped. "Shit. Just a scratch, my ass."

Lou's face was a fuzzy mess by now, his voice distant. Danny wanted so badly to stand up and keep running, but his body screamed in a protest and even a simple task like moving his limbs seemed to fatigue him further.

"L… Lou," Danny whispered.

The older man kept talking to him, but the words didn't really make sense anymore. He only caught the names of his children and Lou's panicked voice as he was wrapping the torn sleeve of Danny's shirt over the bleeding wound on his arm.

_Shit._ He promised Charlie to be back in a few minutes. What was he thinking? Being this reckless wasn't in his nature usually. His children needed him and what had he done? He'd run off chasing the criminal instead of comforting them, knowing all too well he wasn't in shape to do so.

_McGarrett's fault,_ he thought. He was definitely spending too much time with the animal and let him brush off Steve's behavior on him.

A gentle slap on his cheek brought Danny back from the mess of his thoughts. He fluttered his eyes open - he didn't even realize they'd been closed.

"Hey. Stay with me, Danny."

Danny did his best to comply, but fatigue was taking over quickly and all he wanted to do was close his eyes and fall asleep. But he knew what it'd mean.

Lou's lips kept moving, but this time no sound reached Danny's ears at all. His heavy eyelids fluttered, then closed completely. The only thing Danny could feel was the sharp pain pulsing in his arm, but soon, that disappeared too and brought the desired respite as his consciousness faded away.

* * *

Danny woke. The light was so bright it hurt his eyes. He closed them for a moment, uncertain where he was and how he had come to be there, and tried to stitch together the fragments of memories that he could recall.

The steady beeping interrupting the silence and the smell of a disinfectant were way too familiar. A hospital, he was sure of that.

He forced his eyes open and turned his head to the side, where Adam dozed off sitting on the plastic chair in the corner, his head leaned against the wall behind him.

Danny frowned. Not that he wasn't glad he didn't wake up alone, but it was usually Steve who was by his side if something went downhill. Maybe the SEAL needed a break and asked Adam to step in.

His throat was parched and his lips cracked. But there was a glass of water on the bedside table. Danny pressed up with his arm to take it. The rush of pain was sudden and shocking, and he remembered the gunshot wound.

He _remembered_.

The best date he'd had in years, finding Steve bleeding out on the floor of an otherwise empty house, Steve's heart not beating, the long hours of desperation as he and the team searched the island for his missing children, the guns trained at his loved ones while he begged for their lives on his knees, the crazy chase in the woods, Haynes getting away despite his best effort.

_No. That didn't happen. It wasn't real._

Adam startled awake with Danny's hiss of pain. "Hey," he said. "Welcome back. You gave us quite a scare."

"Where are they?" Danny croaked, the panic in his chest growing with the rate of his breathing. "Charlie and Grace. Where are they?"

Adam stood up and strolled toward the bed quickly. "Calm down, Danny. They're all right."

Relief washed over Danny. That was the most important thing right now.

"We had the doctor check them out and then Rachel took them home. We have HPD officers in front of her house at all times."

_Shit. Rachel._ In all the rush and panic he didn't mention his ex-wife what had happened. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment with a sigh. "How pissed was she?" he asked when he opened his eyes again.

"Well, you didn't tell a mother her children have been abducted. And she had no idea until she came into a hospital so what do you think?"

Danny was sure he'd have a long and loud talk - or monologue - coming. If she'll ever talk to him again. No wonder. He screwed up this time. Not only he allowed their children to be kidnapped because of his job, which Rachel hated already anyway, but he didn't even tell her about it.

But right now, a more pressing question than Rachel's anger popped up on his mind. "What about Steve?"

There was a flicker of pain in Adam's gaze before he averted his eyes.

Danny's throat clenched in panic again. "Adam? How is he?"

"He's… stable, I guess." There was something in Adam's voice that gave Danny goosebumps.

Stable is good, isn't it? Then what wasn't Adam telling him? "What do you mean you guess? He's alive, right?" Danny swallowed by a lump in his throat as he remembered Tani's words. Alive didn't necessarily mean all right. If there was brain damage as the doctor feared… Danny didn't even want to think about it.

"He is," Adam said. "But I'll leave the details on the doctor. I'll go call the nurse. Let her know you're awake." And with that Adam left the room, leaving Danny alone with his thoughts.

Danny's stomach twisted in worry. The memory of life fading out of Steve's eyes flashed in front of his own. The fear and pain he'd felt when pumping Steve's heart didn't even feel real now. It was like a bad dream, distant and fuzzy.

_Alive. Stable._ Danny repeated to himself. As long as that was the case, there was a fair chance Steve would be all right. That was better than nothing right now. It had to be. Because it was all he had.

Still thirsty, Danny used his other arm to lift himself up into a more vertical position. He felt a wave of nausea with the movement, but closed his eyes and forced it back down again. His trembling fingers curled around the glass and he downed the water in three gulps.

The door opened just as he clumsily managed to lay the empty glass back to its place and a woman entered the room with Adam following just a few steps behind her. The nurse flashed him a smile, but Danny didn't feel like smiling back right now. He had questions and he needed answers.

"Detective Williams, I'm glad to see you awake," she said. "You took quite a long nap and had your friends worried."

A long nap? "How long?"

The nurse - Laura, according to her name tag - glanced over her watch. "It's been almost thirteen hours since your surgery had been finished."

Danny's jaw dropped.

"You've lost a lot of blood, but you'll be all right," Laura continued. "Your attending doctor will be here soon. For now, I'll change your dressings and then you should try to get some rest."

Danny shook his head. "I want to see Steve."

"Who?" She furrowed her brows.

"Steve McGarrett, my partner. GSW in the chest and back. I… I need to see him."

Laura held his gaze for a moment. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Detective, but you're in no condition to get out of the bed right now. Plus, it's two a.m. But I can go and find out what I can about your partner."

Danny opened his mouth to protest, but then he remembered the last time he underestimated his injury. The decision that allowed Haynes to escape and could've cost Danny his life. That reminded him… "Please tell me someone's with Steve," he said, turning to Adam with urgency. "With Haynes out there-"

"Lou's in his room right now and two officers guarding the door, checking the credentials of everyone who enters. No one's gonna get to him, Danny."

He nodded, partially relieved, but he couldn't get rid of the weird knot in his stomach. Something wasn't right, but he had no idea what. His gaze shifted between the nurse and his colleague. "You either tell me what's wrong with him or I'm gonna sign the papers and go find out myself."

Adam released a loud sigh and exchanged a look with Laura, who shrugged. "The doctor isn't entirely sure about the range of possible brain injury due to prolonged lack of oxygen in Steve's brain," he explained and Danny's heart seized in his chest. "He won't know the extent of the injury for sure until Steve wakes up."

"Which will be when?"

It took Adam a few moments to answer. "That's the thing, Danny. He should be awake by now, but he won't wake up."

Danny's chest tightened with fear. On one side, he was glad Steve didn't wake up without his best friend by his side. But on the other, he knew he should be there for Steve anyway, conscious or not. He'd left him alone for way too long. Maybe Danny's presence would help to wake the animal up somehow. Steve needed him just as much as he needed Steve right now. "Take me to him." He turned to Laura. "Please. Just for a few minutes."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't think it's a g-"

"I don't care what you think!" Danny snapped. "Take me to him or bring on the self-discharge form so I can sign it and go on my own."

Laura looked over her shoulder at Adam, as though pleading for him to say something to change Danny's mind.

"Can you make it possible?" Adam asked her instead. "Maybe a couple of minutes wouldn't hurt. It's definitely better than let him go on his own. Knowing Danny, I'm pretty sure it's not an empty threat."

Damn sure it wasn't. Injured or not, he wouldn't stay attached to the bed and let them keep him from Steve any longer. "I want to speak to his doctor too."

Laura met Danny's determined gaze. "I'll see what I can do," she said and walked away.

* * *

Coma. There was something about the word, soothing almost in a way it conjures up the image of dreamless sleep. Only Steve didn't look as though he was sleeping to Danny. There was no soft heaviness to his closed eyelids. No warm breath escaping from his slightly parted lips. There was nothing peaceful about the way Steve's body lay, prostrate, on the duvet-less bed, a tube down his throat breathing for him, his chest covered with electrodes.

The heart monitor in the corner of the room beeped along with the annoying sounds of the ventilator, marking the passage of time. Danny closed his eyes. If he concentrated hard enough, he could transform the beeps into the reassuring ticking of the clock.

Tears burned in the back of his eyes as he sat in a wheelchair beside Steve's bed, holding his hand and watching his best friend with guilt eating him alive. It should've been him. It was him Haynes was after, yet Steve paid the price. He wanted - no, he needed - Steve to wake up soon, to tell him how sorry he was. To tell his best friend what had happened wasn't his fault. To tell him Charlie and Grace were all right and safe, and that he'll be too.

But based on the doctor's words, it wasn't even sure Steve would wake up anytime soon. If at all. _"The surgery was touch and go,"_ the doctor said. _"We've lost him for a moment twice, and I've been informed he'd been in a cardiac arrest before arrival of the paramedics. I'm afraid his brain might've been cut off from oxygen supply for too long and the brain injury is highly possible."_ Danny replayed those words in his head ever since he'd talked to Steve's doctor. But it was the one particular sentence that stung the most. _"Even if he did wake up, there's no guarantee he'd be the same as before, Detective."_

There was no IF. Danny refused even to consider such an option.

"Better hurry up, you stubborn Neanderthal animal," Danny whispered, blinking back the tears.

But there was no response. Nothing at all and it was breaking Danny's heart to see Steve like this.

"Detective Williams?" There was a gentle hand on Danny's shoulder. "It's been thirty minutes. You need to return to your bed and rest," Laura said. "You can come back in the morning if you get some sleep."

"Okay." Danny nodded and let go of Steve's hand reluctantly, but his eyes never left his friend's still form. "Thanks for giving us some time and …uh, I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Laura smiled at him, then moved behind his back to wheel him out of the room. "It's all right. I understand you were just worried about your friend."

She moved him forward and Danny wanted to protest and ask the nurse to at least let him walk back to his room, but the stupid wheelchair was a condition if he wanted to see Steve. So be it.

He glanced over his shoulder in the doorway and gave Steve one more look pleading for his friend to wake up and be all right. _I'll be back later, buddy._ He thought and let Laura close the door behind them.


	9. Chapter 9

Although considerably quiet, the conversation in his room woke Danny from the restless sleep. He stirred in the bed, trying to find a more comfortable position, and all the voices went quiet suddenly. He blinked his eyes open to see a smiling face of his little boy rushing at him.

Charlie threw himself over Danny, causing him to wince in the pain, but Danny didn't care. He pushed the pain aside and relished the moment of having him in his arms.

"Hey, big guy," he said and pulled his son closer with his good arm.

"Hi, Danno." Charlie rested his head on Danny's shoulder and held onto his father like he wasn't about to let go ever again.

Still hugging his son, Danny looked up and saw Grace walking up to him from the other side of the bed. A rush of anger flooded him when he saw the finger-shaped bruises on her jaw and neck. "Monkey." It came out as a hoarse croak. "Come here."

With sadness in her eyes, Grace complied and embraced Danny carefully, mindful of his injury. "You scared us, Danno," she said with her cheek against his chest.

Danny kissed her on top of the head. "I know, monkey. I'm sorry."

"You broke a promise." Charlie lifted his head and met Danny's gaze.

"And that's a terrible thing to do," Danny said, his tone serious. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I won't do that again, all right?"

The boy smiled, satisfied with the answer. "Okay."

"You okay?" Grace straightened up and rested her arm on Danny's shoulder.

Danny furrowed his brows and frowned. This felt wrong. He shouldn't have his kids worried about him. It was his job. "I'm fine, monkey. I'll be discharged tomorrow morning." He glanced over the bruises on his daughter's skin. "Are you two all right?"

She nodded and gave Danny a weak smile that didn't reach her eyes.

In an instant, Danny knew something was wrong. He knew that look in her eyes. "You sure?" he asked.

"We are okay now. But…" Grace's gaze shifted to Charlie, who was still glued to Danny, then back to her father. "Uh… Can we talk about it later?"

He nodded, although his gut cramped with the anxiety. If Grace didn't want to talk about it in front of her brother, it couldn't be anything good.

"Danno?" Charlie released his bear hug and sat on the edge of the bed, his big eyes staring into Danny's. "Where is uncle Steve? He wasn't with the others."

Danny's chest tightened with the question, even more, when he met Grace's gaze. The look in her eyes was screaming the same question at him. It wavered his already dubious composure.

He pushed himself up into sitting position, thinking about the right answer. What was he supposed to say? He didn't want to promise Steve would be all right. No one could promise that. So he decided to only state the facts for now. "Charlie, Uncle Steve had been hurt," Danny began. "And he's here, in the hospital."

It didn't escape Danny's attention that Grace's body lost some tension with the confirmation of Steve being alive.

"Did the bad guys hurt him?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, they did."

"Is he going to be all right?" Grace chimed in, asking the one question Danny didn't want to think about, let alone talk about with his kids.

It took him a few moments to answer. "Your uncle Steve is strong. If anyone can pull through, it's him." Danny wasn't sure he tried to reassure himself or his kids. A knot formed in his stomach with the image of his best friend on the floor of his house that was flashing right in front of his eyes.

There was a knock on the door and as it opened, Lou showed up in the doorway.

"Hey," Lou said. "I just came to check if everything's all right." He flashed a smile do Grace and Charlie. "You've been here for a while."

"Danno was sleeping," Charlie said. "We didn't want to wake him up so we had to wait."

Lou turned to Danny. "How are you feeling?"

Like ran by a car. "Fine," Danny lied. "Any news?" he asked, knowing Lou'd know what - or who - exactly Danny meant by that question.

Lou's eyes darkened and his smile faded as he shook his head.

"Uncle Lou promised he'll take us for ice cream," Charlie said, swinging his legs off the side of the bed.

"Oh and not just any ice cream," Lou said. "I know where to find the best ice cream in town."

Grace reached for Danny's hand, and Danny took the cue.

"Hey, maybe you can go for ice cream with uncle Lou and sneak in some for me and Grace?" he suggested, his gaze shifting between his son and Lou.

"No, no. No ice cream for you while you're here," Lou said and offered Charlie a hand. "But don't worry. Charlie and I will have some extra for you, isn't that right, kid?"

Charlie took Lou's hand and jumped down from the bed. "Yes!" He looked over his shoulder to Danny. "Can I go, Danno? Please."

"Only if you come back to see me after that," Danny said.

"I will."

Danny's lips curled into a smile when he saw the light in Charlie's eyes. "Be good for uncle Lou, all right?"

Charlie let go of Lou's hand and rushed to Danny again, throwing his arms around his father once again. "Okay," he said. "I love you, Danno."

"I love you too." Danny placed a kiss on his cheek and let go of him, then watched Charlie and Lou walk out of the room.

As soon as he was sure they were gone and the door was closed, he turned his attention to Grace, who lowered herself in the chair beside his bed. There was so much on his mind he wanted to ask her, he didn't even know where to start.

"I'm so sorry, monkey," he said eventually, reaching for her hand. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Are you sure you haven't been hurt?"

Grace nodded, but still, something in her eyes didn't seem right.

"What is it, Gracie?" Danny asked, the pit in his stomach growing.

"You know I'm almost an adult now," she began. "You can tell me the truth. Is uncle Steve going to be all right?"

Danny's chest tightened as their eyes met. "I don't know," he admitted reluctantly. "He made it through surgery, but he's in a coma now. It means he-"

"I know what a coma is, Danno," Grace cut him off.

The sadness in her gaze was breaking Danny's heart. What made it even worse was knowing she was there when Steve's been shot, and he had no idea just how much she'd seen. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

She shook her head, avoiding his gaze.

"Hey," Danny said, his voice soft. He lifted her chin gently with a finger and made her look at him. The tears were now welling in her eyes, making him sick to the stomach. "You know you can tell me everything, right?"

Grace nodded and took a few silent moments before she spoke up. "I… I don't want to go to prison." A single tear ran down her cheek.

Danny raised an eyebrow at that. He didn't understand. "What? Why would you go to prison, monkey? You didn't do anything."

She shook her head and Danny's heart cracked at the sight of more tears flowing down her face. "I didn't want to do that, I promise. I didn't want to kill that man. I just… he wanted to shoot uncle Steve and I… I couldn't let him do that."

All the air left Danny's lungs. At that moment, he had a pretty clear idea of how much Grace'd seen. Or better to say - how much she participated. And it chilled him to the bone.

"Please don't be mad, Danno." She was in full crying mode. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want uncle Steve to die."

Still stunned, Danny pulled her up from the chair, making her sit on the bed, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her tight. He opened his mouth to say something, but Grace didn't seem to be finished.

She pressed her head into Danny's chest. "I know you said to only use the gun for self-defense. I swear I didn't mean to kill him when I shot."

"It was self-defense, monkey," he said, swinging her in his arms from side to side, just like when she was little. "And I'm not angry at all, all right? I'm not. You protected yourself and your family from the bad guys. I know you didn't want to hurt anyone."

Danny remembered the scene in the hallway. There were two dead guys back there, only one of them was shot. But not even in the worst nightmare he'd have thought it was his daughter who pulled the trigger. She shouldn't have even seen something like that. Ever. Let alone fire a weapon at someone. Take someone's life. No matter how much the bastard deserved it. His little girl should've been safe from all the evil of this world. Sure, he'd taught her how to use a gun, but he hoped she would never have a reason to touch it, let alone take a life. Self-defense or not, it always took its toll on a person.

"But he died," Grace breathed. "And I don't want to go to prison. I didn't mean to-"

"You're not gonna go to prison, all right? I promise." Danny cut her off, tightening his hold to comfort her. "You're not gonna go to prison."

Grace sniffed back a sob and met his gaze.

"I'm sorry, monkey," Danny said, fighting his own tears off. "You shouldn't have been through such a thing." And to think it was all his fault… Danny swallowed back nausea in his throat. "I love you, Gracie. I love you and I'm so so sorry." He kissed her forehead and wiped the wetness off her cheek with his thumb.

"I love you too, Danno," she croaked.

Danny pulled her close again, and kept rocking her in his arms, the occasional sobs tearing his heart apart. He couldn't get rid of the image of the scene in his house, all while he was having a time of his life. He'll never forgive himself for that.

"It's all right, monkey," he whispered into Grace's ear. "We'll be all right. We'll get through this together."

Sooner or later. As a family.


	10. Chapter 10

_"You are sitting at my house, buddy. What do you think is going to happen? Knowing you, you might want to come up with an idea to teach my kids how to throw a grenade or something." Danny leveled Steve with a baleful look before checking the safety of his weapon._

_"I'll not have anything happen under my watch, Danny," Steve said for the third time that evening, rolling his eyes as he watched Danny tuck away his gun and put it out of Charlie's reach. "It starts to look like you're just looking for an excuse to stay."_

_"An excuse?" Danny snorted. "That's ridiculous, Steven. I'm not looking for an excuse. Why would I do that?"_

_"I don't know, maybe because it's been a while since you've been on a date," Steve said. "You go and enjoy it. We'll be fine."_

_Danny smiled easily. "I know. I'll be back early."_

_"Just go!" Steve ordered, shaking his head. "Don't you dare to come early. Gracie is a grown-up girl now and Charlie will probably sleep most of the evening. How long had it been since you two been out? I can sleep on the couch if it gets too late."_

_"Go, Danno." Charlie's voice sounded from the doorway behind them. "I wanna stay with uncle Steve. He lets me stay up late."_

_Steve's lips curled upward with Charlie's comment. He crossed his arms over his chest as he met Danny's stare._

_"That's great." Danny frowned. "When did you replace me? I used to be the one adored and loved by my kids."_

_"They still love you. I just get to be a fun uncle, unlike you, buddy." Steve smirked, obviously enjoying Danny's inner fight to argue with him in front of his son._

_Danny took a calming breath and shifted his gaze to Charlie. "No staying up late, is that clear? Your sister will make sure of it if Steve doesn't."_

_"Are you talking about me?" Grace showed up behind Charlie's back._

_"Yes, monkey. Make sure Charlie is in the bed by nine at most. And take care of your brother and uncle. Make sure this animal stays put and behaves." He pointed his finger at Steve._

_Grace giggled. "I will."_

_Danny strolled toward his kids and picked Charlie up, settling him on his hip. He was getting too big for him to do this, but he just didn't want to give it up. "All right," he mumbled into Charlie's ear. "You be good for uncle Steve."_

_"Yes, he replied, his eyes serious ashe stared into Danny's._

_He snuggled his son, kissing him on the top of his head and put him back to the ground, then leaned to brush over a kiss to Grace's forehead. "I love you both," he said as she hugged him around his waist._

"Danno?" There was a voice, dragging him back into the stark hospital room and his arms were empty again. "Would you like a cup of coffee? I'll pop into the canteen before calling mom to pick me up."

Danny shook his head, then instantly changed his mind. "Actually, yes." He opened his eyes. "Thanks, monkey. It'd be really nice."

Grace smiled at Steve. "You don't mind if I leave you alone with Danno for a bit?"

If Steve heard the question he didn't let on. Danny replied for him by forcing a smile.

"He'll be fine," Danny said.

Grace looked from Danny to Steve and back again. There was no mistaking the look on her face - the same wretched expression Danny' had worn for the last five weeks whenever he'd left Steve's side - terror he might die the second they left the room.

"He'll be fine," Danny repeated, more gently this time. "I'll be here."

Grace's rigid posture relaxed slightly, and she nodded. "I'll be back soon."

"Grace?"

She met his gaze. "Better go now," he said. "I don't want you to be late for your therapy session. I can take care of myself."

Grace strolled toward him and leaned over to place a gentle kiss on Danny's cheek. "I won't be late," she said. "I still have enough time to bring you coffee and some food before I go."

"Monkey, I'm not-"

"Not hungry," she cut him off with a frown. "I know. And you know I'll bring you food anyway."

Danny sighed in defeat. This was so wrong. He didn't want his baby girl to be worried about him, to feel the responsibility to take care of him. But the two of them were so much alike he knew it was pointless to argue.

"Okay."

Grace's face grew more serious. "You know, mom says you should go with us someday. It's not that bad."

The last thing Danny wanted was to talk to a stranger about his feelings. He was more than happy his kids found it helpful, but he always hated the idea. There was only one person who he'd like to talk to to make him feel a little better. "Thanks, monkey, but I don't think it'd work for me."

"Mom said you'd say that." Grace rested her hand on Danny's shoulder. "But think about it, okay? Maybe you can just sit with us first and observe."

He pulled her into a tight hug and held tight for several long seconds without an answer. His decision had been made - no shrink could ever make right what he'd caused. To Grace and Charlie, to his relationship with his ex-wife, to Steve.

"I love you monkey," he said instead and let go of his daughter.

She gave Danny one more smile, the one that didn't reach her eyes. "I love you too." She made two steps toward Steve's bed and leaned over to kiss Steve's forehead, melting Danny's heart. "And I love you too, uncle Steve. Watch Danno for me, all right? I'll come and see you again tomorrow." She straightened up and turned back to Danny. "I'll be right back with your lunch, then I'll go."

He watched as she crossed the room, gently shutting the door with a click as she left. When he was sure he was alone, he turned back to Steve. He half expected to see Steve's eyelids flutter or his fingers twitch, some sign that he acknowledged Danny's presence, but nothing changed. Steve was still 'asleep'.

The doctors had no idea when, or even if, Steve will ever wake up. In the last five weeks, they've subjected him to a whole bunch of tests - CAT scans, MRIs, and others, with more to come, but they saw no reason why he shouldn't come round.

"Steve," Danny took a photo frame out of the backpack Grace'd brought him from home, including the change of clothes. "I've got something for you. Grace… uh, she… she thought you may want it." He glanced at his friend to monitor his expression. "It's a photo I took last Christmas. You know, one of you and the kids playing with Charlie's gifts. It's Grace's favorite one." Danny took a pause, still waiting for any reaction. "I'll just leave it on the bedside table, all right?"

Nothing. Not a sound. Not a flicker. Not a tic or a twinge. And the heart monitor continued its relentless bleeping.

Danny placed the picture on the table and sighed when he looked at three lit up faces of his family. He remembered that morning like it was just yesterday. All four of them at Steve's place, his goofy best friend entertaining the kids who adored him. He remembered the look on Charlie's face when he saw his presents from Steve - a police car his son could actually drive and a set of a police officer costume including a badge and a pair of plastic handcuffs. With a smile from ear to ear Charlie tried his new toys out straight away, while Steve and Grace played the bad guys for him. On the picture, Charlie was sitting in his car, and his 'perps' on the floor next to him, looking equally happy.

_"I'm glad you didn't get him a gun and some grenades," Danny said when he saw the presents for the first time._

_Steve's lips curled into a smirk at that. "Maybe next year."_

_"Don't you dare or this is the last Christmas we spend together," Danny threatened._

He swallowed back a lump that formed in his throat with the thought it actually might have been the last one anyway.

And why? Because of him.

_"It's not your fault, Danny,"_ his team kept reminding him. _"You were just doing your job."_

If only Danny could believe them. But he knew better than that. If it wasn't for his job, he'd never have shot Charlie Haynes and he'd never have sent his brother Timothy to the prison. Their father would never have come after Danny's family seeking revenge. Charlie and Grace wouldn't have to visit a therapist three times a week and Steve would be… well, Steve, but at least alive. Plus he and Rachel would probably be still happily married. His job played a big role in their divorce. She'd always hated it, too afraid for Danny's safety, too afraid he might not come home one day.

And right now, Danny hated his job too. That's why he hadn't bothered to show up in the HQ since he'd been discharged from a hospital. Not even for Haynes. There was a whole team of seasoned professionals who could handle that. He'd made a mistake of going after the bastard instead of being there for his family once. He wasn't about to make the same mistake again.

Rachel and the kids had two HPD officers on their backs 24/7, and while they weren't exactly happy about it, it gave Danny a little peace of mind knowing they had someone to protect them when he wasn't with them. And Steve's door was guarded day and night as well, with only qualified people allowed to enter the room. Not that it was necessary, as Danny spent the most of his time by his friend's side and only left to shower and get a few hours of restless sleep, but he didn't want to risk it after the last time Haynes had shown him how easy it is to get to Steve while in such a vulnerable state.

He focused his attention on his best friend again, studying him for the millionth time. His heart ached every single time he saw how pale Steve was, unable to even breathe on his own, how much weight he'd lost in five weeks. Every single time Danny remembered his return home that fateful night, it felt like a knife through his chest. And his conversation with Steve's doctor earlier today didn't help either.

_"What are the chances he'll wake up, doc?"_

_The doctor shook his head. "I don't know, Detective. But to be completely honest with you, the longer he stays in a coma, the lower is his chance of ever coming out of it."_

Danny blinked back the tears he felt forming in the back of his eyes and took Steve's hand in his.

"Please wake up babe." Danny's voice was a mere whisper, but enough for Steve to hear him, if it was even possible. "We miss you."

Danny could plea bargain with God. He could beg him to let him switch places with Steve so he could smile again, spend time with his friends, and annoy the hell out of them. So he could live instead of him. But he'd done all those things. He'd done that so many times over the last few weeks that he'd lost count and nothing, nothing had brought Steve back to him.

"Danno?"

Danny didn't even notice Grace coming back. "Hey, monkey."

"I'll leave this on the table," she said and placed the hot paper cup and a sandwich next to the photo he'd put there earlier. She took the frame in her hand and smiled looking at it. "It was a great day," she said.

"It was," Danny agreed. "Thanks for coffee and sandwich, Gracie."

"You're welcome." Grace's phone rang in her handbag. She put the photo back down and checked the caller ID. "That's mom. I have to go. Will you be all right?"

"Sure, monkey." Danny forced a smile. "Call me after the session, okay? If you need to talk or just anything."

"I will." Grace hugged him quickly, then rushed outside, leaving Danny alone with Steve again.

Danny lost a sense of time after that. Leaving the sandwich untouched, he sipped his coffee in silence, watching his best friend in naive hope he'd at least flutter his eyelids or anything. But to no avail. So he just sat there, his mind numb and heart aching, counting the steady beeps echoing through the room.

* * *

_**15 days later** _

Danny looked up to the calendar on the wall and sighed.

10th March.

That was almost two months since Danny came home to his nightmare. Two months since he'd last spoken to Steve. He shifted his tortured gaze back to his still friend.

"Happy birthday, buddy." Once again Danny's emotions turned jagged and his insides tight. "Charlie made you a birthday card, you know? I'm sure he'd told you when he and Grace had been here earlier."

He hoped for the reaction, but as always, nothing changed.

"It's… It's beautiful, you should see it. There's ocean and boats, even sharks. There is someone on the boat. Charlie said it's you, but I highly doubt that. That guy looks way too handsome to be you." Danny paused, thinking about Charlie's sad face when he'd complained to his father that uncle Steve won't see his card. "You'd like it. And it's right here on your table so now everyone can see how old you are. So if I were you, I'd wake up really fast so I could hide it from all the pretty nurses before they all find out." Danny grinned, knowing all too well that Steve would never hide anything gifted from his kids. He'd proudly keep it where everyone can see it.

Danny would swear the corner of Steve's lips curled into a tiny smile for a second. But that was probably just his imagination. His mind making up for what he'd wanted to see so badly it physically hurt.

The door opened and Steve's doctor entered the room. "Good afternoon, Detective Williams. I thought I'd find you here."

He nodded. He's been here every single day for the last two months, for as long as he could. There was no day he'd miss. Danny needed Steve to know he wasn't alone. He needed to make him come back to him, to them, to make their family whole again.

"Any changes?" the doctor asked. "Did he react when you tried to talk to him? Any movement? Or sounds?"

"I think he just smiled a little while ago, but that's… It's not possible, is it?" Danny asked, lifting his gaze from Steve.

"Actually, it is. If you're right, you're on the right track. If you're right, it means there is some positive feedback to your presence from Commander's side. And any reaction is good, Detective."

"Okay," Danny said and squeezed Steve's hand. "You heard the doc, buddy. My presence is good for you. Let me remind you when you get angry with me the next time I say something you don't like."

The doctor flashed Danny a smile. "Just keep what you're doing. It's the best we can do right now."

Right. Talking to his best friend and never getting a reply was taking its toll on him though. And his daughter as well, whenever she managed to visit Steve.

Danny thought about asking her not to come anymore, considering how upset it got her. It was the last thing she needed, and Danny was certain in only added to the nightmares of his little girl. The therapy seemed to help a little, but even though Danny could see progress, her visits in the hospital almost always ended up with her crying in Danny's arms. But who was he to deny her the right to come and see Steve? Especially when they've been through such a traumatic event together. Danny had a suspicion Grace needed Steve to wake up even more than him.

"Detective?"

Danny shook his mind to clarity again.

"Are you all right?" the doctor asked, his eyes scanning through Danny.

"Yeah," he lied. "I'll let you do what you need. I'll wait outside." He stood up and headed to the corridor, gently shutting the door behind him.

He leaned his back and head on the cold wall and closed his eyes, trying not to think about the question that haunted him more and more often - What if Steve won't make it?

But before he had a chance to actually try and force the dark thoughts out of his mind, his phone buzzed in the pocket of his pants. He took it out and read the text from Lou that showed up on the screen.

_We got Haynes. Call me when you have time._

Strange. Danny's been waiting for such information for almost two months. He thought he'd feel better, yet he felt nothing but emptiness inside of him. He couldn't even bring himself to care whether the team got Haynes dead or alive. He typed his reply.

_Great. Thanks for letting me know._

At least Rachel and the kids could breathe again without the constant police protection everywhere they moved.

But other than that… what difference did it make? The damage had been done. His children, especially Grace had a hard time dealing with what'd happened. Steve was in a coma and who knew if he'd ever wake up again. And Danny was drowning in immense guilt 24/7. Slowly losing himself in misery.

And he had no idea when will this nightmare end, or if it ever will at all.


	11. Chapter 11

Danny, Grace and Charlie, Mary and Joan, the team, and the rest of Steve's o'hana… They were all waiting for that magical moment when Steve's body would respond to their presence. The only responses that seemed to come were the reading of his vitals. This was nothing like you see in the movies. There was no sudden awakening, no easy end to brutal pain in their hearts.

With every passing day, Danny felt like Steve was drifting further away from him. He would've settled for him to come back just for a moment, for a few minutes, but instead, he continued to lie still, eyes closed, body completely unresponsive, and his mind unaware of all that was happening to and around him. Danny liked to think about it as if Steve was on another mission. The most difficult mission of his life - to save himself - so that he could return to his o'hana.

Danny wanted to scream. To somehow make this nightmare end. The clock in Steve's hospital room didn't stop ticking, and it felt as if time itself were a form of torture.

He sat at Steve's bedside for hours on end, simply watching him. Sometimes he wanted to be alone with him and at other times, he could hardly stand to be alone.

People kept coming and going, spending some time with Steve, but none of them stayed for as long as Danny. The team, Steve's friends, even Mary and Joanie, they all tried to make Danny to take some time for himself, offering to take the guard. But he insisted on spending the better part of the day - every day - by Steve's side.

Sometimes they were chatting and trying to be normal. But nothing felt normal anymore. There was a lot of talk of miracles, Steve's nonexistent superpowers, and everything being okay. But Danny's heart was neither hopeful nor shattered. Not anymore. It was numb. He was in so much pain he didn't know how to behave anymore, and he couldn't even entertain the thought that Steve might not be okay.

_Okay._

Danny wished people would stop telling him that his partner would be okay. It felt like they were ignorant to his pain and his reality. Not everything in life was all rainbows and unicorns. Some moments are nothing but dark. Right now it wasn't okay. It might never be okay again, ever. As Danny's best friend and the only brother he'd left lied in a hospital fighting to live, telling him that it was going to be okay gave him nothing at all.

Things were still quiet. Steve was still. Danny was under impression that Steve was hiding somewhere, healing. And yet he still anticipated more than absolutely pure stillness from him. The silence in Steve's room was draining, and as Danny sat with him, the memories of their time together flooded back to torture him some more.

He wanted it back. Good and bad, all of it. He'd give anything to hear Steve's voice again, to see his smile, to make him laugh, to banter with him, to share his joy and pain, to wrap him in a hug. Yet he couldn't do much more than speak and get no answer, to touch him and get no response. To wait. To hope.

But the idea that Steve might not make it, or that he might not return in the same way was slowly introduced to Danny. He closed his eyes, chill running down his spine as he remembered the doctor's words. _"Two months is a really long time, Detective. I won't sugar-coat it. I wouldn't hold out much hope if I were you. I'm sorry."_ But there was a light, albeit weak, in the world of darkness and utter desperation. If Steve woke up. _"A full recovery rarely happens for severe cases, but it's possible. It depends on too many variables and differs from patient to patient. I can't say much before running a bunch of tests first. And I'd need Commander McGarrett to be awake for that first. Until then I won't know more."_ Danny both hated and appreciated the doctor's honesty. But not so good prognosis chilled him to the bone.

It was two days after Steve's birthday when Danny asked the doctor what he'd been afraid to ask for so long. The days and nights had been long and strenuous, and the hours began to blur together. He hated to leave Steve's side for longer than a couple of hours to get a shower and a nap, but he felt that at some point, he needed to get a decent sleep or he'd collapse from exhaustion soon. But he had fears about leaving for a full night, so he had to know if and when Steve died… how would it happen?

The doctor explained that it wouldn't be sudden. _"Detective, I promise you if you go home and sleep for eight to ten hours, Commander McGarrett won't die while you're gone."_ So Danny allowed his assurance to make his choice. The reality of the situation was heavy, real, and unmoving. It constantly felt as if an elephant were sitting on his chest, crushing all the life inside him. He was sad. Tired. And he knew somewhere deep inside, that he couldn't afford to fall apart. He knew that Steve needed him, Grace needed him, and Charlie needed him. He also knew at someplace within himself that he needed to take care of his body in order to help others.

It felt like an eternity had passed since the second Danny had stepped into Steve's room for the first time. The days felt like years. What was he going to do? What about the rest of his family? What about work? How could life move forward when his best friend, his brother, was lying in the hospital all day? Danny stayed as much as his physical body would allow him. He was frozen there, but he was also taking baby steps to allow himself what he was going to need to survive this ordeal.

True exhaustion was setting in. Eventually, he would have to give in to the fact that his own body needed rest and rejuvenation. Danny would have to figure out a way to make it acceptable to leave the hospital for longer than three or four hours and trust that Steve would be in good hands.

The first time Danny left the hospital with the intention to be back there no sooner than in twelve hours, he got into his bed and tucked himself in. It was difficult to be out of physical proximity to Steve for that long, but he was so exhausted that as soon as his eyes closed, his body allowed him the rest he so desperately needed. And since then, however difficult it was, he'd spent every night in his own bed. Yet he couldn't make himself stop spending his days by Steve's side. At least the ones when he didn't have his kids with him.

The more days passed. Steve's unresponsiveness meant his recovery could be less successful. Danny was aware that Steve could reach a certain stage and not be able to move past it. But he refused to believe that would happen. Not to his superSEAL. Not to Steve McGarrett.

But eventually, a very big step was taken in Steve's recovery. The staff began to wean Steve from the ventilator to prevent dependency on it. The specialists removed the machine, changed the tubing to a tracheotomy tube, and carried out the other tasks.

Until then, Danny had no idea that taking someone off the ventilator was one of the most critical and dangerous things that occur in the ICU. After the doctor explained him the process, he reminded him that he was being as certain as he could that Steve could breathe on his own.

Eventually, Steve progressed to the point at which a team of physical therapists came in twice a day to work with him, to start his physical therapy. They lifted him out of the bed into a large chair and made him sit for some time every day. They also worked with Steve's limbs to stimulate his muscles, and encouraged Danny to do so from time to time. He gladly complied, feeling a weak satisfaction of being at least a little bit more helpful, and to his surprise, even Grace asked him to show her how to exercise Steve's limbs so that she could help whenever she visited her beloved uncle.

The next big step in Steve's recovery was moving him to the Special Care Unit. The transition meant he was in less critical state in terms of blood pressure, heart rate, and overall stability. Along with the removal of the ventilator, it was a sign Steve was 'ready for change', whatever it meant.

Steve's new room was bigger and brighter, and it also had a bathroom. There was also a recliner in the corner of the room, making Danny's time there a little less miserable. As this change was supposed to be a step in the right direction, Danny tried harder than ever before to make Steve acknowledge his presence and show any kind of response. And now was one of those times.

"Hey, babe." Sitting on the chair, he took Steve's hand and have it a gentle squeeze. His best friend was so silent and still you'd imagine his hand to be cold, but it wasn't, it was as warm as Danny's. "It's me again. Danno." It's been no more than fifteen minutes since his last attempt to talk to Steve expecting a response, but Danny didn't care. He would talk until Steve got annoyed enough to wake up and tell him to shut up finally if that was what it took.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but then froze. His heart skipped a beat. Was he imagining it? Or did Steve just turn his head slightly towards Danny?

"Steve?" Danny breathed, feeling his heartbeat quickening. "Babe, can you hear me?" He gave Steve's hand another squeeze.

There was no response for a good minute or so and Danny sighed in disappointment. But after another moment, he was certain Steve just squeezed his hand back faintly. Despite trying to control himself, tears rushed into Danny's eyes. No, Steve wasn't completely back yet, he knew that. But this was the closest he'd been in eight and a half weeks.

"You're doing great, buddy," Danny said, his voice breaking. "Please hurry back, all right?"

Once again, it took about thirty seconds, but Steve's head leaned to the side, following Danny's voice. It wasn't much. But a tiny movement was enough to make Danny's heart flutter.

"That's it, Steve. You're almost there," Danny encouraged him, but this time nothing happened. "Can you… Can you maybe squeeze my hand again? You think you can do that?" But no, Steve was completely still again, even after several minutes of Danny's further attempts. He sighed in defeat. "It's all right, Steve," he said. "Just rest. We'll try again later."

And Danny did. He kept trying, kept talking to Steve, encouraging him to open his eyes, to squeeze his hand, to wiggle his toes. Anything. Sometimes Steve did. Sometimes there was no response at all. He continued exercising Steve's arms and legs more often and rub his hands and feet. Danny was allowed to trim his nails, cut his hair, and shave his beard, which gave him an impression of 'normalcy' as Steve in front of him looked more like Steve he was used to before.

Three days after Steve's first response, Danny was once again standing alongside Steve's bed. He rubbed his arm, bent over a little, and said, "Steve, it's Danny." Not a single word more than that. And Steve did something Danny didn't even expect anymore. He reached for Danny's hand and made his way up to his arm, until he reached Danny's cheek. Danny bent over even more to make it easier for Steve, leaning into the touch. He was elated to cry. It was a moment of pure joy and more importantly, a glimmer of hope. It was the most purposeful movement Steve'd made so far.

Later that day, Steve opened his eyes for the longest time since he's been in a coma. He looked extremely exhausted, and the effort wore him down quickly. It were only seconds before Steve drifted to sleep again.

Danny wasn't the only one trying to make Steve more aware. The neurologist would spend time standing by his side giving Steve commands to open his eyes, squeeze his hand, move your feet, and so on. These commands got gradually more difficult, and most of the time, Steve was keeping up. He even managed to clean his own face with a wet washcloth.

His eyes remained closed for most of the time, even during these exercises, but he was taking small steps forward. Every tiny progress counted. And Danny's been reminded it was a marathon, not a sprint. And it was been equally as tiring.

One afternoon, Danny arrived at the hospital and as always, headed straight to his best friend. "Hey, buddy," he greeted him. It felt stupid introducing himself all over again, but the doctor was clear about that. _Tell Steve who you are, what are you doing, and why are you doing it. Every time._ "It's Danny again," he said. "How are you doing?"

Danny didn't expect an answer, but the doctor encouraged him to try and talk to Steve as normal. So he did.

"We're… okay, all things considered," he said. "But we miss you around."

Steve's eyelids fluttered, which encouraged Danny to keep talking, keep trying to make Steve more aware of him. To draw a response.

"Charlie's almost like new already. He still wakes up at night sometimes and crawls into my bed, but mostly he's all right." At least one of their family was doing good, and Danny was really grateful for that. "But you know, it's hard to explain why his uncle Steve is lazy to wake up and play with him, so you better come back because I'll run out of excuses for you soon."

Nothing more than silence and stillness was an answer.

"And Gracie sends her hugs. She couldn't come today. She's still having those therapy sessions, but the doctor reduced it to once a week and I have to tell you that I'm surprised how much better it makes her feel to go there. Would you believe she keeps asking me to do that too? And she almost cracked me yesterday. Almost. But the shrink isn't the one I want to talk to."

Danny waited, and a few seconds later, Steve's head turned in his direction, listening to his voice once again. He smiled, thankful for a small acknowledgment.

He wanted to say something positive about himself too, but he couldn't find anything and he didn't want to lie. So he kept talking about the kids, the team, the usual stuff.

And when Danny felt like he was about to run out of the topics to 'discuss' with Steve, his best friend's eyes fluttered open and stared at him. It wasn't the first time Steve'd opened his eyes. But it was different somehow.

Not only Steve's eyes were open even longer than before, but for the first time, Danny saw something in those blues that hadn't been there before.

Recognition. Awareness.

And at that moment, Danny didn't need Steve to speak or move. He just knew some part of Steve's consciousness was there with him. And it was the biggest gift of all.


	12. Chapter 12

He forced his eyes open, and for some reason, he felt as if he haven't done that in a while. His whole body ached and he could feel something in his parched throat, as though stuck, blocking his airways. He couldn't figure out exactly why was that, as his brain was as fuzzy as his unfocused vision. His head was throbbing and he tried to remember where was he and why did he feel like run over by a truck, but nothing came to his mind.

He heard the unfamiliar voices echoing in his skull, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. It all felt so distant, dream-like. But the voices got louder and louder eventually, making his frustration grow.

Why wouldn't be quiet? Were they talking to him? Who were they? Where was he? Why was it so damn tiring to even breathe? And who…

A thousand questions rushed through his confused brain.

"Commander, can you hear me?" A female voice. Yeah, definitely talking to him then. "If you can hear me, just blink your eyes."

Why would she want him to do that? What the hell was going on? For the reason he couldn't explain though, he felt like he should do as asked. He shut his eyes close and slowly opened them again.

"That's it," she said. "Can you wiggle your toes for me?"

He did.

He felt someone's warm fingers snaking around his hand. "Now try to squeeze my hand," the woman said, making him even more confused. Who was she? Why did she want him do such things?

Once again, he did as told, and tried to focus on the fuzzy figure looming over him.

"Alicia," she said, "Call Dr. Jensen. I think he's waking up. And let Detective Williams know too."

"Okay," the other female voice said. "But it's the middle of the night. Shouldn't we wait till morning with the call to Detective Williams?"

"I'm sure he won't mind, Alicia."

Then he heard footsteps and opening and closing of the door.

He didn't understand what was going on. A doctor? And a Detective? He opened his mouth to ask, but nothing came out. He tried again, but only an unintelligible whimper came out of his mouth.

Finally, he managed to take in the room he was in. A smell of disinfectant, bare walls, light way too bright for his liking, and a heart rate monitor beeping away in some close proximity. A hospital room. What the hell had happened to him? Why couldn't he remember?

To his surprise, he had wires and tubes stitched into his wrists and a plastic clamp on his finger. His whole body ached and felt unbelievably weak. Even a simple move like turning his head to the side cost him so much energy he could barely believe it. It didn't feel right.

Was it even real? Was he dreaming?

He didn't realize he started to breathe faster until the woman's voice tried to soothe him. "Shh. It's all right, you're in the hospital. My name's Laura, I'm the nurse. Just stay calm, okay? You're safe."

Her blonde hair was in a messy bun on her head, her hazel eyes staring at him. As unfamiliar as she looked, there was something knacking at him in the back of his mind telling him that he knew her.

He went to move his hand but realized with terror he couldn't. But he just squeezed the nurse's hand and wiggled his toes, didn't he? Why couldn't he move his limbs? He tried again. Nothing. That sent his mind into a panic mode, and he could feel his breaths coming in shallow, rapid gasps.

"Come on, you're all right. You're okay, Commander. Stay calm."

Stay calm? How could he? He was exhausted and out of breath, unable to move properly and speak, with no recollection of why was he in a hospital.

As hard as he tried to get his breathing under control, he couldn't help but feel the panic grow, an invisible power crushing his chest, draining the little energy he had left.

And before long, just as more strangers entered the room, the exhaustion took over completely, overriding the panic as he succumbed back to sleep.

* * *

_**2 days later** _

Someone had positioned him on his side, propped up with cushion to relieve his back and sores that they constantly checked him for. At least that's what they've told him. This meant he was facing the window now. His eyes were closed but he could feel the dim sunlight on his skin. He listened to the sirens as the ambulances sped by on the road outside.

The door to his room whined, and someone padded up behind his back. He recognized the scent of that person. A girl. He couldn't associate the girl's face and name with the outside world, but somehow he knew she meant a lot to him.

She walked around to stand between him and the window, and he felt the soft touch of her lips on his forehead.

"Hi, uncle Steve. It's Grace," she said, her voice drowning out the chatter on the ward.

_Uncle._ So she must be his niece.

"Oh." Grace touched his face. "Hang on, I'll sort that out."

_Sort what out?_

Footsteps. Then the soft rip of paper from near the foot of Steve's bed. Footsteps approached his head again. Grace dabbed a tissue to the corner of his mouth, where saliva was dribbling out and dampening the pillow under his turned cheek.

_Don't_ , he thought. She wasn't his nurse. He didn't want her to see him as a helpless patient. _Don't do that._

"There we go. That's better." She walked around the bed and then a sound of moving something from behind his back echoed the room. Probably a chair. She stopped in front of him and he heard her weight shuffle in the chair.

"Danno said you're almost awake now," she said and her warm hand touched his cheek. Her touch was gentle and oddly comforting. She remained silent for a moment, letting him wonder who Danno was. What a weird name.

"Are you dreaming in there?" she asked eventually. "Because that would be nice." She stroked her thumb up and down on his cheek soothingly, then pulled her hand away. "Then maybe, when I go to sleep and I dream, we could meet up, you know? Hang out." She sighed. "It sounds stupid. But I had a weird dream about you tonight and it would be nice to think it was really you, somehow."

He didn't like the tone that suggested this girl's sadness. For some reason, it was breaking his heart.

She brushed his hair off his forehead gently, then added, "There are times when I miss you so badly. Like yesterday - my therapist wanted to talk about you and about… about what'd happened to you and I thought I could handle it already, you know? I thought I was strong enough, like you or Danno, but I'm not." He heard her voice breaking and he wanted to open his eyes, to hug her and say everything was going to be all right, even though he had no idea what had caused such sadness. "I miss you so much. Please, please wake up already."

Purely out of making this girl's sadness stop, he would do his best to oblige. He wished it was that easy, but his body just refused to cooperate with his brain and he was way too tired.

"One large hot chocolate for my baby girl, as ordered." There was a new, male voice, equally as sad as Grace's. "Hey, were you crying, monkey?"

Did he make Grace cry? He certainly didn't mean to.

"Come here," the stranger said and he heard the footsteps and Grace's quiet sniff. "Why are you crying? Huh? What's wrong?"

Did he know this voice too? He'd heard it before, didn't he? But he couldn't remember the name.

"I thought he'd be awake by now," Grace said. "The doctors said he was waking up, didn't they?"

"They did. But they also said it takes a while, you know? A couple of days maybe." The man paused. "Right, buddy?"

Was the man talking to him? He wasn't sure. He tried to open his eyes, but for some reason, it seemed to be an impossible task. He heard footsteps, heavier than Grace's, and then someone took his hand. It was bigger and rougher than Grace's.

"Hey." There was so much pain evident in that one single word, he couldn't even imagine what had caused it. "Danny here. Again."

Ah, so that was the name. Danny. It sounded familiar, just like Danny's voice. Why the hell couldn't he remember these people? And how could he feel so safe around them when he had no idea who they were?

"You're taking your time, buddy. It's not like you at all," Danny said.

The problem was he had no idea what was and wasn't like him. He had no recollection of what was he like at all and how had gotten him here, where was 'here', what had caused Danny and Grace such pain and sadness, or… basically any other memories.

The realization hit him hard. He couldn't figure out who he was. _Steve, right?_ That's what Grace had said.

"He just moved his fingers a little," Danny said. "Did you see that, monkey?"

Did he? He's been trying to move his limbs for the past ten minutes, but he wasn't aware of being at least partially successful.

"I did," Grace confirmed, a little change in her voice obvious.

"See, monkey? He's doing great. You can stay for the afternoon PT session to see for yourself if you want to."

Grace's voice lit up. "Can I? I'd like that, Danno."

_Danno?_ So Danny was Danno? It… kinda made sense, didn't it? Now, if only he could remember who Danno was.

Or who _he_ was.

He had so many questions and was determined to get his answers. But he'd need to make his body work for that first. And he'd try his damn best to do so.

* * *

_**3 days later** _

Someone was speaking. For some reason, his body refused to cooperate with his commands to open his eyes and find out who was it. He tried again to move his arms and again, there was no help from his limbs. It didn't strike him as odd until then. He felt his lungs suck in a breath that burned unlike anything he'd ever felt before. It was as if his lungs no longer performed that function and were protesting.

He heard a noise, a gaspy sound, and his arm was touched by warm fingers. "Steve?"

He tried to pry his eyes open and felt the glue that seemed to hold them hostage begin to let go.

"Steve?"

_Steve?_ Was it his name? Didn't Grace and Danny call him like that? He wasn't sure.

He felt the first sliver of light and tried to lift his arm to shield himself, but it wouldn't budge. Whoever was in the room with him must've seen him squint, because the light was doused almost immediately to a soft glow. His eyelids fluttered without strength. He tried to focus on the young man in front of him. The guy seemed a little shocked that he was looking up at him.

"Steve, just hold on. I'm Jason, your physical therapist and you're in the hospital. Your… family isn't here right now, but we'll call them. Don't worry."

He looked quizzically at him. What was going on? That was when he saw the tubes on his chest connecting him to the monitors. The bleeping felt like a knife through his brain. He looked at the stranger's green eyes and pleaded with him to explain.

"You're awake. I'm glad you're back with us again, Steve," Jason said.

Of everything Jason just said, the only thing he could think was _Who was Steve?_ He wanted to ask so badly, but something in his throat prevented him from speaking.

Jason leaned down to be more in line of his sight. "I'll be right back, all right?" Jason pressed the button on the side of the bed several times and headed toward the door. Jason shouted something, to someone, but he didn't understand.

He tried to shift his head to see Jason, but he couldn't. Nothing of his body felt like his. He started to panic, his breaths dragging from his lungs.

Jason came back and placed a hand to his arm. "Steve, just breathe. Calm down, please."

He tried, he really did, but his body was freaking out without his permission. His face was suddenly surrounded by so many other faces. Jason was pushed aside and he felt his panic become uncontrollable.

He trashed as much as he could, but felt the sting in his arm as they all chatted around him. They wouldn't even look him in the eye. Jason was the only one who acknowledged him. The rest of them just ran around each other like he wasn't important, like he wouldn't understand their purpose, like it was their job. Then he realized where he was and guessed it was their job.

His eyelids began to fight with him again and he cursed whoever it was that had stuck a needle into his arm. But as the confusion faded and the air became fuzzy, he welcomed the drugs that slid through his veins. It made the faces go away. It made fear and panic go away. It made his eye close and he dreamed of things and people he knew nothing about.

* * *

_**1 day later** _

His eyes felt lighter this time when they opened themselves. The fluttering felt more natural and he felt more… alive. He could turn his head properly this time too, and when he did he saw something disturbing.

There were three strangers staring at him at his bedside. A blonde man and two kids.

The cute boy caught him looking his way and yelled, "Uncle Steve!" He threw himself across the side of Steve's bed.

"Take it easy, Charlie." The man gently moved the boy down from the bed. "Uncle Steve just woke up." Then he moved closer and pressed the button on his bed several times, staring at him wide-eyed.

_Uncle?_ Was he the boy's uncle too?

He shifted his gaze awkwardly to the man with a teenage girl by his side, and waited as he stood slowly, never taking his eyes from his. "Steve?" When he squinted his eyes, the man added, "Babe? You… Are you with us?"

When he went to speak this time, the tubes had been removed. He let his tongue snake out to taste his lips. They were dry. He was thirsty on a whole new level and glanced at the coffee cup stuck between the guy's palms. The man looked at it, too, and guessed what he wanted. He sprung to set the cup down quickly and fill an impossibly smaller cup with water. Then he froze mid-movement as if remembering something important. He shook his head and set the cup down. "Sorry, buddy. Uh… I can't give you water just yet. The doctor said they have to make you pass a swallow test first."

He could only think about the water in that cup. Why wouldn't they let him drink? The back of his throat rasped with every attempt he made to produce saliva. The more he tried, the drier his mouth became. His cracked, dry lips stung as his tongue licked them and seemed to just split them even more. Yet the man only just looked at him apologetically, refusing to give him just a little sip of the cool liquid.

Did he say the doctor ordered this? Why the hell would he need one anyway? So many questions popped on his mind. He decided to get some answers, starting with slow, careful, "Wh-er-e am I?" The noise that came out was raspy and grated.

"In a hospital, buddy," the man explained.

Hospital. But he knew that, didn't he? Someone had told him already, hadn't they? Or was it his imagination? He wasn't sure. It seemed too hard to understand just anything. Nothing made sense.

The door opened and closed, and in a few seconds, he registered a woman in a scrub looming over him. That supported the hospital theory further.

"Uncle Steve," the girl on the man's right got his attention. "I'm so glad you're awake. I was afraid we'd never get you back."

That stopped his train of thoughts. "W-wh-at… Wh-at do y' mean?" he whispered.

The girl frowned and glanced back at the man. He frowned too. "What do you remember, buddy? Do you know what had happened?" the man asked.

He shook his head. "I don't… remember anything." He thought hard. Actually, that statement was truer than he intended it to be. He couldn't remember anything at all. He sucked in a breath. "Who are you? Do you… do you know w-what had happened to me?"

The man's devastated face told him he knew everything, but there was apparently something he was missing.

He turned to the girl and a little boy who was holding her hand. "Monkey, can you please take Charlie outside and wait there?"

_Monkey? Charlie?_ Had he heard that before? It sounded awfully familiar.

He watched the kids disappear behind the door and the man turned his attention back to his bed. He glanced at him, a little hint of some betrayal that he couldn't understand in the man's eyes. Then the man turned to the nurse. "He must have amnesia."

The nurse ignored the guy's panicked voice and took his wrist in her hand to check his pulse. He wanted to glare at her. What the hell did his pulse have to do with anything in that moment? "Vitals are stable. How do you feel?" she asked him.

How did he feel? Was she for real? He rasped out his words. "Like… like there's something," he paused to suck in a breath, "something everyone isn't telling me."

She smiled sympathetically. "I'll get the doctor."

Steve looked up at her and watched her leave before looking to the blonde man again.

"I… I don't understand. Did I…?" A horrifying thought crossed his brain as he recalled a nurse telling someone to call the detective some time ago. His head might be a mess but he was sure of that. "Did I hurt someone? Is that w-why you're all being so weird?"

The man's eyes began to fill with unshed tears. He felt bad about that. He knew it was his fault, he just didn't know why. The man shook his head to dispel his theory and took a deep breath, loaded with meaning and purpose. "Steve, you... You got shot," he began.

Shot. Okay, he got that. But he wanted the guy to move on to the part that explained why everyone was staring at him like that. Why there were tears shimmering in the man's eyes.

"You were at my place," the man continued after a pause, looking at him as if expecting he to remember after the cue. "I… I came home and found you. But you'd already lost a lot of blood and…" He shook his head vigorously. "Anyway, you've been here for something over nine weeks. You were in a coma, Steve."

Steve took a lungful of air and uttered the question that he'd wanted to ask so badly for days. Somehow, he could feel the question would change his world, but he had to know.

"Why do you keep calling me Steve?"


	13. Chapter 13

_Who are you? Why do you keep calling me Steve?_

Those words hit Danny right in the chest. The doctors tried to prepare him for the possibility of Steve not being Steve after waking up, but strangely, he didn't think something like this could happen. That after all they've been through, Steve wouldn't remember anything, including him.

He finally moved, as if he'd been released from a stranglehold. He walked up to Steve and reached for his hand, but the panic in Steve's eyes made him refrain from the touch. It cracked his heart further. Steve didn't want him to do that. He'd probably pull away if he could.

"Uh," he began, doing his best to hide the hurt in his voice. "Because that's your name. Steve McGarrett."

"My name… Steve," Steve repeated and frowned. "I don't feel like Steve."

Danny smiled sadly, desperately trying not to release the tears burning in the back of his eyes. As he watched his best friend, his heart felt broken for him. He could see how scared and confused Steve was.

Steve's breath quickened visibly, and he made a sound reminding a frustrated whine. Danny watched him concentrate, trying to remember anything as his eyes searched the room frantically, as if hoping he'd find the answers to everything in there. Then he turned back to Danny. "So… who are you?"

"I'm Danny," he said after taking a second to regain his composure. "We're… friends." He wasn't sure what else to say not to overwhelm his confused friend. They were much more than that, but it didn't matter if Steve had no recollection of any of their past.

Steve creased his forehead. "You… you're Danno?"

Danny's eyes widened and for a second there was hope warming up his chest. "Not to most of the people, no. But my kids call me Danno. And you do. Completely ignoring the fact I hate when you do that."

"Kids?"

Danny nodded. "Grace and Charlie."

"Grace and Charlie," Steve repeated, and Danny gave him a moment, still hoping he'd remember. "I… But you said you're a friend." Steve frowned at him.

It was Danny's turn to not understand. He'd like to know what was going on in Steve's head. Steve mumbled something that sounded like 'uncle Steve' for a moment, and Danny let him think.

"Are you my brother?" Steve asked eventually, surprising Danny even more.

He gave Steve a sad smile. "You could say that," he said. "But not by blood."

Danny felt someone's hand on his arm, pulling him back. He turned around to see the nurse with the doctor by her side.

"Can I have a word outside?" the doctor asked and walked to the corridor.

Danny shot Steve one more worried glance as the nurse approached him, then followed the doctor, closing the door behind him. He stared at the doctor, patiently waiting for him to speak first.

"As you can see, your friend might be experiencing some initial memory loss," the doctor said finally.

Danny opened his mouth to speak, but he closed it again, a thousand thoughts running through his mind while his heart was bleeding. When he spoke, his voice was trembling. "But he'll remember, right?"

"Most likely he will regain his memory. Memory loss isn't uncommon after coma."

_Most likely?_

"Maybe you can try to show him some photos. Spend some time with him when he is awake and remind him of who he is, who you are," the doctor suggested. "It might help to find out anything he remembers and use it as a starting point."

Danny felt the pressure on his chest tighten. Most likely, maybe, or might weren't the words he needed to hear right now. And that was just Steve's memory. What if it was worse than that? What damage had been done?

"Right now he's understandably frightened," the doctor continued and Danny tried to concentrate on his words. "He needs someone who loves him by his side more than ever."

"That won't be a problem," Danny said. There was nowhere else he'd rather be now than by Steve's side. Especially after being so lucky to get his best friend back against the odds. "I'll bring him some pictures."

The doctor gave Danny a sympathetic smile. "Once he is stronger and stable enough, he can go home and hopefully his memory will come back when he is surrounded by his own belongings."

Danny's eyes widened at that. "Come home?" That was good, wasn't it? If Steve didn't have to be transferred to a rehabilitation centre, it meant he was doing well. Yeah, home was definitely good.

"Not yet, but hopefully soon." The doctor smiled, the typical smoker's lines around his mouth deepening.

The door opened and the nurse showed up in the doorway. Through the open door, Danny noticed Steve's eyes were closed, and his body and facial features relaxed. He felt absolutely terrified suddenly. "Is he…?" he asked, swallowing by the lump in his throat.

"Just resting. This is very traumatic for him," The doctor assured him. "We'll start with the tests today, but we can't rush anything. I don't want to stress him out. The brief periods of being awake will be really exhausting for him for the next couple of days, but it should gradually improve and he'll stay awake for longer. But the physical therapy along with occupational therapy will be draining. So be prepared for that. It's not uncommon for a patient needing to sleep for most of the day after a simple assisted walk to the bathroom and back. But he's not there yet. We'll start slowly."

Danny nodded. "That's what I wanted to ask about," he said. "You said he can't move properly just yet, is that right?"

"It appears so, yes. He responds to simple commands like moving his fingers, turning his head, wiggling his toes and so on. Small movements, but he isn't fully immobile, which is great, but I've warned you there might be some brain damage, Detective. It might affect his mobility, speech, or way of thinking. Usually, it's temporary, in worse cases permanent. I'll be able to tell you more in a couple of days."

Danny felt the knot in his stomach grow. He couldn't imagine Steve not being able to move for the rest of his life. No. He was doing good. Great, in fact. Considering how long he'd been out for. It's Steve. He'll be back to jumping from the roofs in no time, right? He had to be.

The doctor must've noticed his train of thoughts. "I'm not saying he'll stay like this, Detective. He is doing well so far. It is entirely possible to re-learn to walk and regain control of the body. That's what PT and OT are for. I'm just saying it might take months to get him back on his feet."

 _Months?_ Fine, Danny could work with that. Just as long as there was a light at the end of a tunnel. As long as Steve could get back on his feet. "And what about his memory?"

"We will have to wait and see."

Frowning, Danny's gaze shifted to Steve again. His best friend was alive. Steve was awake and had a pretty good chance of recovery. Yet Danny's heart was bleeding, his mind wandering in the dangerous waters of 'what if'.

"Detective?" the doctor said. "I'm glad he has someone like you. It'll make his recovery much more pleasant and probably faster. Just remember this is not a sprint. It's a marathon and this is going to be a long road. It's important that you take care of yourself too."

Danny nodded and walked back inside, making his way to Steve's bed. He picked up Steve's hand and squeezed it gently. He would do whatever it took to get him back, no matter how hard it'd be or how long it'd take. No matter how much Steve would struggle. He was determined that this struggle wouldn't destroy Steve, himself, or anyone else he loved. Just as Steve had to fight… so did they.

He glanced over his sleeping friend, his heart aching for him. "I love you, buddy," he whispered. "We'll get through this somehow. I promise."

And he wouldn't break any more promises.

* * *

_**3 days later** _

Danny glanced around the room, reading the words written on the colorful post-it papers all around Steve's bed. It was a tool suggested by one of Steve's therapists, to help him remember who he was. So Grace and Charlie helped Danny create a set of these personalized cards, that contained items that both related and provided recall to Steve. Danny read it for the hundredth time.

Name: Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett

Date of birth: 10th March 1977

Hometown: Honolulu

Parents: John (deceased) and Doris McGarrett

Siblings: Mary

Work: Head of Five-0 taskforce

Dog: Eddie

…

There were more, but no matter how many times Steve had read it, no matter how hard he tried to remember, he obviously couldn't, much to his frustration. This morning was worse than the ones before, after his reaction to the photo on his bedside table made everyone's day miserable.

_"It's me," Steve said, staring at the picture in his hands. "With Charlie and Grace, right?"_

_"That's right," Danny confirmed, looking for any sign of recognition in Steve's face. "I took it last Christmas."_

_Steve kept his gaze on the picture, concentrating. "We look happy."_

_Danny's heart ached. "Yeah, it was a great day. We had a lot of fun."_

_Steve's lips curled into a deep frown first, and his breathing rate sped up. Then his eyes filled with tears slowly and suddenly he seemed on a verge of a breakdown, converting the frustration into rage. "This is pointless," he growled and his face contorted into an angry snarl. "I just… I'm not him, okay? I know you want me to be but I'm not!"_

_"Steve…"_

_"Stop!" Steve snapped. "This doesn't work. I don't want to to this anymore. Just… just leave me alone. All of you!"_

Steve refused to speak to anyone after that, especially Danny, which hurt more than Danny was prepared for. But Danny wouldn't give up on him. Not now. Not ever. He'll try again tomorrow. And the day after that. Over and over again until Steve either remembers or learns to trust and love them all over again.

* * *

_**5 weeks later** _

Steve tried really hard to remember his real name and his real life, but nothing came. He still had no idea who he was. There were people visiting him, claiming to know him, especially Danny. But how could Steve forget them if they were telling the truth? How could he forget his whole life?

Well, he knew how. The doctor had told him. But it still didn't make sense. _"I'm sorry, but it appears you've developed amnesia from your..." the doctor considered his words for a second before continuing, "Your accident. We'll have to run a lot of tests, but the good news is that in more cases than not, the amnesia is temporary. But I can't promise anything. Every case is different and you might never remember anything."_

_But there was more than his memory on Steve's freaked out mind. "What about… What about my body, doc? Why can't I move?"_

_The doctor smiled at him sympathetically. "It's normal after being in a coma for so long. You'll have to learn to use your body again. And once again, the good news is it's doable. I don't see a reason why you couldn't walk and return to normal activities after enough of good physical therapy. But it'll take a while."_

How long that would be, Steve could only guess.

He could feel his body to wake up slowly. The first time he tried to sit up, Danny had to put his arms under his shoulders and haul him up. It felt like his body had been completely pulled apart. It took him nearly a month just to be able to rearrange his position in bed without someone's help. It always left him out of breath and extremely exhausted, though. But the doctors insisted on two sessions of physical therapy and two sessions of occupational therapy a day. And it felt like having to dig to the absolute bottom of his strength to make it through those sessions. And he savored the rest coming afterward.

There was a gentle knock on the door, then it opened. Jason, Steve's physiotherapist and all-round nice guy, whose sole aim was to get Steve walking, showed up in the doorway.

As Jason explained to him when Steve woke up, he was doing all Steve's physical therapy while Steve was asleep and he'd continue the care now that he was awake. He also said Steve will have some muscle atrophy and some motor skills that will need to be honed again. And they've been working on it for the past five weeks.

Jason entered the room and just a few steps behind him, Danny followed. "Good, you're awake," Jason said. "I hope you're ready for your session. Danny will join us today if you don't mind."

"Hey, buddy," Danny greeted him. Steve felt bad about the ever-present pain in Danny's blue eyes, knowing for sure it was his fault.

"Hey."

"So is it okay with you? Can Danny help me out a bit?" Jason asked.

Steve didn't care. He didn't want any more spectators than necessary in case the session wouldn't go well. But on the other side, there was something oddly comforting about the man claiming to be his best friend. He caught Danny's gaze. "If you want."

"I do," Danny confirmed promptly.

"Steve, we'll make it harder today," Jason said. "You'll try and stand up, all right?"

Half-surprised, half-excited, Steve nodded. "I can try."

"You'll do great, as always." Jason pulled a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we'll help you."

Steve gathered all his energy and let Jason and Danny help him sit up in the bed, carefully swinging his legs around and placing his feet on the floor.

"Ready?" Jason asked after giving Steve a moment to catch his breath.

"Yeah."

Danny and Jason took hold of his arm each, and lifted him slowly upward. "It's okay, Steve," Jason said. "We're both here to steady you. We're going to slowly let go and see how long you can stand."

As Steve's legs straightened, he tried to lock his knees. He was so weak, though, that he couldn't find the power in his legs to support himself. As soon as Danny and Jason let go of him, Steve wobbled uncontrollably, and they had to catch him before he fell.

"I'm sorry," Steve said, avoiding the eyes of both men. They both really wanted him to make it, he could tell that much. And he'd failed them.

"Don't be," Danny said, carefully helping him back to bed. "We'll just keep trying, all right? Tomorrow's a day too."

Steve didn't answer. His failure hurt him, but what hurt even more was the hope radiating from Danny every single time he was with Steve. The guy wanted so badly for Steve to remember, to succeed at moving, to be the strong leader he'd apparently used to be, but all he got was a disappointment from Steve's futile attempts. No matter how hard Danny tried to hide it, Steve could see it in his eyes. And for some reason, Danny's pain and disappointment troubled him as his own, if not more.

"Danny is right," Jason said. "There's no reason for you to apologize, Steve. It's completely normal and you're making progress. No matter how small, it's still a step forward, okay? Baby steps."

Baby steps. Shouldn't he be able to stand at least to make any kind of step? But he couldn't even do that.

"Hey," Danny said and waited for Steve to look up at him. "Don't pull this face, all right? You've been through worse and came out of it. A little obstacle like this won't stop Steve McGarrett from getting what he wants. Nothing will."

Danny was probably right. It wouldn't stop Steve McGarrett. Not if he was anything like Danny and others had told him. The problem was, though, he wasn't Steve McGarrett. Just an empty shell of him, completely reliant on strangers' help 24/7. Unable to do a single thing without assistance, whether it was sitting up, using the bathroom, or using a fork. It was a life he couldn't even call life. And who knew if that would ever change.

Maybe it'd be better for everyone if he didn't wake up at all.


	14. Chapter 14

It had been six weeks since Steve woke up. He lay there and tried not to remember that he couldn't remember anything. Danny told him his name was Steve McGarrett, that he was an ex-navy guy, a head of a special taskforce called Five-0, and much more. He told him he was forty-two years old. He'd had a birthday during his coma. Forty-two years of his life were gone, as if they never happened.

Sometimes, when Danny told him more about his life, Steve turned on his side and refused to move. Refused to participate. Refused to be the person Danny told him he was. It made no sense. Steve could remember who Charles Dickens or William Shakespeare was. He could remember who the president of the USA was. He could remember what happened on September eleventh and the Twin Towers. He could remember what nine multiplied by nine was. So why couldn't he remember what eyes color he had, or who his family and friends were, or even his own name?

The days blurred, the minutes passed into hours.

Some things changed. Like his therapy schedule for once. Now it also included sessions with a mental health counselor. Steve wasn't sure it was the way he overreacted sometimes, or his mood swings, or sudden outbursts of anger or sadness that made the doctors decide he needed one. They said it was because everyone who had been through this had to feel down understandingly. No matter the reason, in the beginning, he was against it with every cell in his body. But the first session with Dr. Coleman changed his mind. She seemed to be nice, and after introducing herself to Steve, she just talked about totally unrelated things, making the mood in the room lighter. Steve even found himself smiling at a joke she made.

She didn't push him and didn't ask questions as Steve had feared. She only challenged Steve to say whatever was on his mind at the moment, whether is was related to his situation or not. He could speak about the weather or sport if it was what he wanted. But he didn't. He took a moment to scramble all his feelings and emotions into the words. To prioritize which one was stronger than the rest.

_"I feel guilty," Steve whispered eventually. "I don't even really know why, but I do."_

_"You shouldn't," she answered. "Your family and friends don't blame you. They just missed you."_

_"What if I can't be the person they want me to be?"_

_"Then they'll just have to learn to live with that. They'll still love you."_

_Steve jerked his eyes to hers. "So I don't have to be a man who knocks the bad guys around and likes running and weapons?"_

_She laughed in a little choke. "No, I don't think so. It's understandable that you'd be different." She looked at Steve closely. "It doesn't matter who you were or what you've done in the past. The only thing that matters is who you are right now."_

Maybe she was right. Maybe Danny and his kids wouldn't mind if he was a little different now. If they all loved him the way they claimed they did, they wouldn't leave him because of that.

His session with Dr. Coleman took place every day after his afternoon physical therapy session and it always left Steve feeling better just a tiny bit afterward. The physical and occupational therapy were another story, though.

Some days, he made progress. Some days he didn't. People kept coming and going, expecting him to try harder, be the person he didn't know. Steve hated that. Hated the total loss of control over even the most basic needs. Hated not being to use the toilet or standing up on his own. Hated the fact he couldn't even eat without being fed like a toddler. The nurses begged him to eat and when he didn't, they came and put cloudy liquids into his IV to sustain him. He hated everything about this. His mood was directly proportional to the amount of progress he made on the given day, but it was always much less he wanted it to be.

But one thing was constant. Danny.

He came in every day, more than once, and he'd stand in the corner or sit by the bed or help Jason during Steve's PT sessions. When not talking, he was just watching Steve in a protective manner that no one else possessed. He has never scolded him for not cooperating, never forced him to eat, and he really tried to hide the disappointment in his eyes, although Steve could see it anyway. But his eyes also held an understanding in them, like he knew Steve needed his time.

When Steve didn't feel like talking to anyone, Danny knew somehow, and remained quiet, just being there, watching him. Sometimes Steve stared back at him, sometimes he just closed his eyes. But today, as Steve looked over to find Danny asleep in the chair with his head awkward over the top of it, he knew it would need to change.

Today, he was going to start trying harder. He couldn't just lay there in self-pity forever. And he felt bad. Danny look totally wrecked. Steve knew he was worried about him for three and a half months and it obviously took its toll. He hated to be the reason of it.

He checked the clock on the wall. It was almost time for his morning PT session. After the fiasco with standing up for the first time, Steve tried again, day after day. Finally, yesterday, after a week of painstaking efforts, he was making some headway. He was able to put his feet on the ground, stand up and remain upright, albeit wobbling, without Jason's or Danny's help for nearly a whole minute.

Steve heard shuffling from the chair beside his bed and turned his head to see Danny waking up.

"Hey there," Steve said.

Danny blinked a few times, then his eyes landed on Steve's. "Hey. I… uh… I must've dozed off, sorry."

Steve felt guilty again. "You should go home and get a decent sleep. Jason and I will be fine."

Danny shook his head. "No, I just arrived an hour ago. I'll be fine. Grace and Charlie are with their mom anyway so I'd rather be here for a while if you don't mind."

Danny's presence was something Steve realized he craved, even without the memories of the man. Somehow, he always knew what to do, what to say, what would make Steve feel better. He knew when Steve needed to be left alone and when he needed to talk. It was weird, but it felt good. Like there was some kind of connection between the two of them. But on the other side, it made Steve feel even more guilty he couldn't remember why Danny's presence was important to him.

The door opened and revealed Jason's face. He smiled at Steve and then at Danny. "Good morning. I can see you're all ready. How are you feeling today, Steve?"

Steve shrugged. "Ready to change something." It must've been the right answer, because it earned him a wry smile from both, Danny and Jason.

"Good," Jason said. "So you'll be glad to hear I've got something special for today. Now that you've mastered standing, it's time to take a step on your own."

Steve frowned. He imagined himself walking on the beach and felt instantly frustrated at his current situation.

Danny seemed to read his mind, as always. "You can do that, buddy."

Wishing Danny was right, Steve nodded. "Okay."

They helped him sit up and then up on his feet, holding an arm each as always. That alone left Steve out of breath for a moment.

"We're gonna let go of you now, all right?" Jason said and let go of Steve's arm carefully. Danny followed suit.

Steve's wobbly knees felt like they'd give up any second, but Steve was determined to make today different. For himself. For Danny. For everyone who loved him and put their life on hold for him.

"That's it, babe." Danny's eyes didn't leave his own. "Now try and make a step, all right? We're right here if you need us."

If he needed them. He meant if Steve failed. Steve almost let the sadness swallow him with the thought of failing, but then he reminded himself he hadn't even tried yet.

He gathered the strength to put one foot in front of the other. And it showed up to be such a hard thing to do. His foot barely moved an inch. Sweating profusely and exhausted already, he screamed with anger.

"Just focus on what you can do today, Steve," Jason calmly reminded him. "Soon you're going to walk out of here and leave all this behind you. That day gets closer starting from today."

"Yes, come on, Steve," Danny said as he rubbed Steve's shoulder. "Don't be too hard on yourself. Give it another go. Just push your foot over this line." He drew an imaginary line with his toes on the floor in front of Steve.

"Okay, I'll do it," Steve confirmed, gathering his willpower. "I'll do it."

Danny and James looked on keenly as Steve slid his right foot forward. They cheered as he dragged his left foot over Danny's line. He'd taken his first step.

Completely drained and soaked in sweat, Steve turned to Danny, who understood immediately without any words needed, and wrapped his arm around Steve's back before Steve had a chance to fall. Jason joined him and they helped him to sit down on the bed.

"Well done, Steve," Jason praised. "It'll only get better each session, you'll see."

Trying to slow down his breathing rate, Steve nodded, hoping Jason was right.

Danny looked thrilled, but he was trying to mask his excitement. Probably for Steve's sake so Steve would just play along and let Danny think he didn't notice how badly he needed Steve's progress. "You did great, buddy," he said and patted Steve's back.

"Don't worry, the rest of the session will be easier. We'll just do our usual exercises in the sitting position," Jason added.

Steve was exhausted and ready to fall asleep already, but Jason obviously had other ideas. But he would try and do whatever was necessary to feel the satisfaction of walking again. Even if it meant another fifty minutes of PT, and then one more session in the afternoon. And all over again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. Until he no longer needed these sessions.

Each day after Steve's first step, Jason set him new goals like 'Walk four steps to the end of your bed.' 'Walk ten steps to the door.'

By the time another three weeks have gone by, Jason was so impressed with Steve's shuffling that he proudly presented him with a walking frame and announced, "Good job, Steve. Now you're ready to come out of your room and walk around the whole ward."

The thought terrified him. He froze and shook his head. He couldn't possibly go that far.

Danny, as always, read his mind. "Yes, you can, Steven!" Now come on, on your feet!"

"That's right," Jason joined Danny. "Get up."

Steve obliged, got up slowly, and shuffled to the doorway. He stood at the door to his room, clutching on to his frame for dear life and peered down the corridor. He was terrified, a thousand thoughts rushing through his head. But this had been the closest to self-reliance since he woke up.

Danny and Jason followed a few steps behind him, pushing the trolleys with the various drips, hanging pouches and tubes, that were still connected to Steve's body.

"Okay, Steve, you'll walk from here to the entrance door and take a rest. Then you'll go to the nurses' counter and rest again. And then back to your room, okay?"

"Okay," Steve said, white-knuckling the frame's handles.

Noticing the event happening, a few nurses came out from behind the counter to encourage Steve.

"Uh, Steve?" Danny said, pointing at the nurses. "You realize you can't quit now, don't you? You've got five pretty women watching you."

Steve giggled nervously. Five more sets of eyes watching his possible failure. He shoved that thought into the back of his skull. He wondered if he was always thinking like that, preparing for the worst-case scenario, or whether he used to see a glass half-full. But that was a task for another time.

He could hear Danny behind him, encouraging him as he watched Steve shuffle. One step, two steps, three steps… until he reached the entrance door and took rest. Jason and the nurses cheered on him.

"All right, buddy. That's it. A few more seconds and then we'll go to the counter," Danny said with joy in his voice.

"To the counter," Steve repeated, beaming with pride. "Okay. Let's go."

The small crowd, and especially Danny and Jason cheered him on the way. "Keep going, Steve! You can do it!" they cheered as Steve shuffled forward.

It had taken him almost hour an half to walk about a hundred yards, but as he got back to his bed, he felt as proud and happy as id he'd just run a marathon. And he was equally as tired.

But what mattered was he was able to walk that far without anyone's help, and it was the greatest achievement since he'd woken up.

It made him think about Dr. Coleman's words. _"It doesn't matter who you were or what you've done in the past. The only thing that matters is who you are right now."_

No, he couldn't remember his old life, but maybe he could actually make this new one work, eventually. Maybe he'd even like it more.


	15. Chapter 15

The doctor informed Steve that he was down to his final week in the hospital. In total, he'd spent a hundred and forty-nine days under close supervision, including the time he was 'asleep'. In that time, he'd seen a lot of people come and go. In the early days, beds became free for heartbreaking reasons. As time went on, Steve saw people recover and be given all-clear to go home to their families, or to be moved into different facilities if they needed more intensive care. But Dr. Jensen said it wasn't his case. He'd go home. And he knew soon it'd be his turn.

With each passing day, Steve gained weight and gradually shed most of his pipes and drains. He was now able to administer his own medication, and in the last few days, he had been able to visit the cafe on the ground floor without the need of the walking frame, just with Danny's supervision and occasional help.

Danny, Jason, and the team of nurses began a seven-day countdown to the day they hoped Dr. Jensen would discharge him. They were all excited about it, but just the thought kinda terrified Steve just as much as it excited him.

He was supposed to go home. But the thing was, he didn't remember his home. He didn't remember people who'll want to talk to him, he didn't know what he was supposed to do at home, other than attending his appointments in a hospital and rest. Sometimes he wasn't even sure he wanted to go. But just as every single thing in the past months, this wasn't his call either.

Steve was sitting on the bed - Jason's orders to help him slowly adjust to 'normal life' - lost in a haze of his dark thoughts, when he heard giggling from the corridor. He lifted his head with a gentle knock on the door and a second later he watched Charlie barge in. Steve hasn't seen the boy since he woke up, as it was probably too hard on the young kid for his uncle not to remember him. Grace followed him in and her eyes met Steve's.

"Sorry, he was too excited to see you and I couldn't stop him," she apologized.

Steve noticed Grace had stopped calling him uncle Steve a few weeks ago. He wasn't sure it was Danny who asked her to do so, or she just didn't want to put more pressure on him. After all, she seemed like a smart kid.

"It's all right, Grace." Steve forced a smile and slid his gaze to Charlie, who walked toward him hesitantly. "Hi, Charlie."

Charlie's face lit up instantly and his hesitance was gone in a split second. He threw his arm around Steve's waist and buried his head in Steve's chest. "See, Grace? I told you he'll remember me!"

Steve's stomach twisted. He didn't have the heart to tell the boy he only knew his name and face from the photos and Danny's and Grace's stories. Instead, he returned the hug and gave a sad smile to Grace.

"Charlie, be careful," Grace reminded her brother. "I told you to be gentle, didn't I?"

Charlie loosened his arms. "I'm sorry, uncle Steve. I didn't want to hurt you," he said as he pulled away. "Can I sit with you on the bed?"

"Sure you can."

Charlie was up next to him before he finished the word. It made Steve grin. Just like with Danny, there was something about Danny's kids Steve couldn't quite understand. Something that made him feel comfortable and… loved. Even if he didn't remember them.

"How are you doing?" Grace asked as she pulled a chair closer and lowered herself on it.

"Fine, I guess." It felt like a lie, though. But only a partial one. Physically, he was much better, improving every day and slowly gaining the lost weight back. But for some reason, his mental healing wasn't as quick as he'd like it to be. Grace didn't need to know, though. "What about you? How's school?" It sounded stupid, but he wasn't sure what else to ask or what to say. What do you talk about with the person who knows everything about you and you don't know a single thing about them? To others, it might seem like he didn't care or didn't want to talk to his family and friends, but it wasn't true. It was just weird to do so and he had no idea what was he supposed to say most of the time.

She shrugged. "Okay. I got another A+ from biology yesterday."

"That's great."

"What is great?" Danny's voice sounded from the doorway. He made his way to the group, holding two paper cups. He handed one to Grace and stood by her side, sipping the hot brew.

Steve looked up at him. "That you've got a very smart daughter," he said.

"Oh, that." Danny's lips curled upward and he shot a proud glance to Grace. "That's great indeed."

"Danno!" Charlie called out. "You know what else is great? Uncle Steve remembers me! Right, uncle Steve?"

It was hard to miss the surprise, and more importantly, hope in Danny's eyes. It felt like a knife through the heart, reminding Steve how much pain he caused to the ones who loved him. How much they needed him to be the person he couldn't remember. How much they held onto the hope he'd remember one day. Did he really think they could accept him the way he was now?

He'd never be able to fully forgive himself for the incredible stress he put everyone through. For turning everybody's life upside down. For making them put their lives on hold. Especially Danny, who held vigil around Steve's bedside for five months.

The least he could do for them was remember. But he was just another thing he had no control over. After all this time, he should be used to having no control whatsoever, shouldn't he? But can one even get used to such a thing?

Danny kept staring at him without a word, his eyes wide and hopeful.

Steve lowered his eyes as an answer, his heart aching for all he'd lost.

"Grace?" Danny said. "How about you and Charlie go get some snack downstairs?"

Grace stood up and helped her brother down from a bed. "Come on, Charlie. How about a strawberry milkshake? I heard they made a good one down there."

"Okay. We can bring one for Danno and uncle Steve too," he said on his way to the doorway.

"Don't worry about us, Charlie," Danny said and smiled at the boy. "Just get whatever you want, all right? And be good."

Steve watched the kids disappear. As soon as the door closed, Danny put the cup down and sat on the bed beside him without a word.

Staring down onto his feet, Steve began, "I don't-"

"I know," Danny interrupted him. "I know you don't remember."

Steve lifted his head and locked his eyes with Danny's, unable to ignore the hurt in those blues. How could someone just look at him and know? How could someone know him that well and yet, Steve had no recollection of such a person?

"It's all right, you know?" Danny added. "I mean, I'd love you to remember. But even if you won't, it won't change the fact we love you, Steve. We'll just make new memories, okay?"

A warm feeling spread across Steve's chest with those words. Once again, a feeling he couldn't quite explain flooded him. A feeling he'd known this guy forever. A feeling of being safe and loved, no matter what.

"I'm sorry." It was all he could say.

"Don't be." Danny reached up and squeezed his shoulder lightly. "None of this is your fault, buddy. If someone should be sorry, it's me."

Steve furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

Danny took a deep breath and rested his hands in his lap, staring down at them as he spoke. "It's my fault this happened to you."

Frowning, Steve tried to piece the puzzle together, but it didn't make sense. "I thought I got shot." He didn't ask for details, though. Danny told him Steve was a cop, so he assumed he got hurt at work. But then he remembered Danny had told him he was found at Danny's place. Back then, he didn't bother to ask why. He was too overwhelmed by everything else.

Danny nodded. "You did. But the guy who hired the man who hurt you was targeting me. You got in the way and… well, you already know the rest." He looked like he was barely holding himself together. "I'm sorry, Steve. If it wasn't for me, this wouldn't have happened to you. You wouldn't be here now."

He wasn't sure what to say. It wasn't really fair, expecting some kind of reaction if he only knew the story from someone blaming himself for Steve's suffering. Then a pressing question popped on his mind. "Is that why you are here every day? Because you feel guilty?" he asked.

"No, of course not." Danny shook his head. "I'm here because I'm worried about you. Because I want to help you get better."

Steve nodded in silence. He couldn't explain it, but something told him there was more to the story of how he got to the hospital. "Have you been there? You know, when it happened?"

"No," Danny whispered. "But had I known what was going to happen, I'd never had left."

Steve took a moment to think. "Then it's not your fault," he said eventually. "It's not like you could have prevented that, is it? Besides, the doctor said you've saved my life. I'd be dead before the paramedics arrived, right?"

Danny met his gaze. "That's… yeah, but-"

"Thanks," Steve interrupted him. "And you're right, I wouldn't be here now if it weren't for you. We wouldn't have this talk. Or any talk at all."

Danny opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. He forced a smile and remained quiet.

"I didn't mean to make Charlie think I remember him, I'm sorry about that," Steve added after a moment of silence, unable to get Charlie's happy reaction out of his head. Now Danny will have to be the one to break it to the boy. Again. He felt terrible about it.

"It's okay," Danny said. "Uh, by the way, it's almost time for you to go home, but the doctor said you can't live alone. Junior still stays in your house when he isn't with Tani, but I thought that maybe… uh, maybe you'd like me to stay around for a while?"

Steve froze. He hasn't thought about that. Junior visited him a few times a week too, but he never radiated the same kind of energy Steve could feel around Danny and his children. The idea of coming 'home' and let this stranger help with his everyday activities made Steve's blood run cold. But Danny had done more than anyone could ever ask for already. It wasn't right to ask him for more.

"Steve? You okay?" There was concern in Danny's voice.

"Yeah, I just…" _Just what? I just don't want to live with a man I don't know? I don't want to go to home I don't remember?_ "I don't want you to sacrifice your life to take care of me," he said eventually, holding Danny's gaze. "You've done enough. More than that. I can see how tired you are, Danny. And there is no way for me to repay you for all that you've done for me."

"Being there for you in the time of need is the least I could do, buddy," Danny replied promptly. "It's what family's for. I know you don't remember, but you're actually the one who taught me that." Danny's lips curled into a slight smile. "You know, once you told me I'm not as alone as I think. It's my turn to prove the same to you. And I'd never ask for anything in return, Steve. I'll always be there when you need me, okay? I love you. With your memory back or without it. It'll never change."

It was weird, how the more Danny showed him his love, the more guilt it evoked in Steve. He could say there used to be something special between them and except grief Steve felt for a loss of it amongst everything else, he felt bad about causing so much pain to someone who cared that much. To be such a burden.

"We're in this together, Steve," Danny continued. "I'll talk to Junior, all right? I'm sure he won't mind. He can even stay at my place for the time being."

Steve shook his head. "I can't ask you to put your life on hold." Even though, Danny already did that, didn't he?

Danny smiled at him and shook his head. "Some things never change," he said.

"What do you mean?" Steve creased his forehead, not understanding.

"Asking for help is the last thing on this Earth Steve McGarrett would think about. Relax. You're not asking me for anything. I'm doing it because I want to, okay? Besides, I'm not putting anything on hold. I just want my life to include you, that's all." When Steve didn't reply, Danny added, "So it's settled. I'm moving in."

"But-"

"Do you want me to move your bed downstairs? You know, there are some stairs you'd have to climb to get to your bedroom."

"No, I-"

"Of course not," Danny interrupted him again. "We'll see how you can handle it and then decide if it's necessary."

"Danny…"

"Is there anything specific you'd like to eat when you get home? I can't imagine not having proper food for five months. You must be starving. I'm a great cook, by the way."

"Danny!"

Danny stopped talking and released a sigh. "What?"

Holding Danny's gaze for a moment, Steve could see Danny was dead serious. And somehow, he didn't mind at all. He was kind of starting to see why Danny was his best friend. "Thank you."

That seemed to ground the blonde guy finally and earned Steve an honest smile. "You're welcome, buddy."

Before Steve knew, the rest of the days passed and it was time to take one last look around his room before zipping up his huge bag of medication. It had been a hundred and fifty-six days since he'd been rushed to the hospital, and he was being discharged into home care.

A brief consultation with Dr. Jensen confirmed he was free to go, with mandatory bi-weekly follow-up appointments and PT sessions for the next month. After a lot of hugs and well-wishes, Steve's discharge papers were signed.

* * *

"We'll make a quick stop at my place, okay? I forgot to pack something," Danny said as he made a right turn on the crossroad.

Steve shrugged. He'd been sitting quietly on the passenger's seat of Danny's black Camaro, lost in his thoughts. He still wasn't convinced this was a good idea, but he couldn't stay in a hospital forever just because he was too scared of living.

"It'll be just five minutes at most," Danny added, glancing sideways at Steve.

Sensing Danny expected some kind of reaction, Steve confirmed he was listening. "All right."

Danny didn't push him to talk, and they spent the rest of the ride in comfortable silence. When Danny pulled up the car at a driveway, Steve took in the image of the house. The house he was supposed to be in when he got shot. Hoping some kind of memory would come back from staring at it, he kept doing so, but to no avail.

"You all right?" Danny asked after a few moments.

"Yeah," Steve replied, hiding the disappointment in his voice.

"Would you mind coming with me?" Danny asked. "I don't want you to wait here alone. You know, just in case you won't be feeling well."

Steve nodded. "Okay."

Danny got out, walked around the front of the car and opened the door for Steve, then waited patiently for him to slowly shuffle out and get on his feet on his own, which Steve was grateful for.

He followed Danny in, taking slow and careful steps, not missing Danny's side glances to check on him. It took a while, and cost him a lot of energy, but eventually, he got into the house completely on his own.

"Wanna sit down while I pick up my stuff?" Danny suggested.

"No, I'm good, thanks." Steve looked around, stunned by the unfamiliarity of this place, and wondered if his place would feel the same.

"Okay. I'll be right back. If you need me, just shout at me. I'll be upstairs, but I'll leave the door open."

Steve nodded but didn't listen anymore. His attention got a picture on the shelf. The picture of him with Danny on a beach. He reached up and took it in his hand, examining each detail of it. You could feel a special bond from the way the two men looked at each other on that photo and Steve's heart ached when he imagined how hurt Danny must feel if Steve couldn't remember a single bit of it.

"Hey, you're gonna be okay, right?" Danny asked, as if unsure he should leave him alone.

Steve lifted his head and pulled his jagged emotions together. "Why are you still here? Go. I'll be fine."

Danny hesitated for a second, then rushed up the stairway and disappeared in the doorway.

Gathering more strength, Steve moved forward and examined the rest of the living room. The walls and shelves contained more family pictures of Danny, Grace and Charlie, and on some of them, Steve was there too.

But some of them were different. There were three photo frames with missing glass hung on the wall. One was a picture of Grace in a blue school uniform when she was about half her age. Her hair was neatly braided and she was wearing a huge smile on her face. The second one was a photo of Danny with Charlie sitting on his shoulders, with his arms spread wide as if imitating flying the airplane. On the third, the smallest one, there were all three of them with Danny in the middle, holding both his kids close.

Steve frowned. He had a weird feeling he'd seen that picture before. Well, of course, he had seen and not remember probably all of them, but this one was different somehow. He reached up and took it off the hook.

"Steve? You good? I'll be down in a minute." Danny's voice carried from upstairs.

"I'm fine," he shouted back.

Returning his attention to the frame in his hands, he examined the faces of the three people on it, the missing glass, the weird, dark red, tiny dot on Danny's white shirt. Completely consumed by the picture, he startled as a shrill, desperate scream carried through the house.

He dropped the picture and let it clatter on the ground as he turned around, frantically searching for the source of the scream.

"Danny?" he called out, hoping Danny was all right. But the screaming voice didn't remind him of Danny's. It was someone else's.

He glanced down onto the picture laying on the floor and the image of that sent his heart into a panic for some reason.

"D-Danny?" He tried to scream, but only a choked whisper came out. There was no chance Danny would hear that upstairs.

He heard another scream, more like a child's one, and then a loud sound reminding a gunshot. A sharp pain spread through his back, and just a second later, with another gunshot, the pain erupted in his chest as well.

Steve looked down to see dark blood gushing out, soaking his t-shirt, and his wobbly knees buckled, sending him face down to the floor. He could see the puddle of blood growing under him and he heard the third gunshot just as he managed to roll over to his back.

"Come on, Grace," an unfamiliar voice said. "Put the gun down before you hurt someone else."

"I'll shoot you," Grace replied in a shaky voice. "My father showed me how."

What was going on? When did Grace come here? And where was Danny? Didn't he hear the gunshots? Was he… Was he hit too?

"I'm sure you don't want to kill your uncle Steve, do you, Grace?" the unfamiliar voice taunted.

A heartbreaking sob came from Grace. "No, please. Don't hurt him."

Steve closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he could clearly see the man crouching beside his head, aiming the gun at him, and Grace, holding a gun in her shaky hands, trained at the man by Steve's side.

A familiar scene… like deja vu… like…

It struck him then.

"Steve!" he could hear Danny's voice call out.

But Danny wasn't here, was he? He was out with Rachel. It was just him and the kids, and the men that came in to…

"Steve, come on!" Danny's voice grew more urgent.

"What if I come with you?" Grace asked and Steve's heart sank. "Will you leave him alone then?"

Steve's eyelids fluttered, his breathing ragged.

"Hey, Steve. Are you with me, buddy?"

Danny's voice made him open his eyes again, but it wasn't his face he saw. It was Grace's, wet from tears streaming down her face. "I love you, uncle Steve," she whispered, and then she was gone.

Steve turned his head to the side, searching for her, but he could only see the picture with missing glass on the floor, in a puddle of his own blood. Another scream carried through the air, but this time, Steve recognized the voice. Charlie. It was Charlie's.

"Steve?"

Steve closed his eyes again, gasping for air. A light tap on his cheek made him flutter them open. Danny's face was staring down at him, a panicked gaze locked on him. "That's it, buddy. Keep your eyes open, all right?" Danny pleaded. The blonde man's shirt was covered in blood.

"Sorry," Steve managed to whisper. A sound barely audible even to his ears. "I'm sorry."

"Steve, please. Talk to me."

Steve studied Danny, whose shirt was now white and clean again. No traces of blood anywhere. He locked his eyes with Danny's.

"I'm sorry," Steve repeated, tears forming in his eyes. "I… I'm…" Unable to hold it anymore, he let the salty liquid stream down his cheek. "S-sorry."

"Shh, it's all right," Danny soothed him, holding him up in sitting position. "It's all right. You fell down. Are you okay?"

Fell down? What about…. He looked down where the blood stained his clothes and opened his mouth in surprise when he couldn't see any. He could feel his heart slamming against his ribcage in full force.

"You all right?" Danny repeated, staring at him with worry in his eyes. "Did you hurt yourself?"

Steve shook his head. "I… I'm fine," he lied.

"Can you stand?" Danny asked. "Let's get you up on the couch, all right?"

Steve nodded shakily, trying to pull himself to his feet. Just as soon as he managed to get upright, his knees buckled. His vision went blurry as he tried to grab the wall, or anything, really, to stop him from-

Danny caught him before he hit the ground, helping Steve sit back down.

"S-sorry," Steve stuttered. "I-"

"It's okay." Danny wrapped his arm around Steve's shoulders and pulled Steve close to him. Steve leaned into him and buried his head into Danny's chest. "It's okay, I've got you."

Steve took a moment to regain his composure before lifting his head and looking up at Danny, who still held him close. "I'm sorry," he repeated, blinking away the tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Stop apologizing." Danny tightened his hold of Steve and run his hand up and down Steve's back soothingly. "It's all right. I shouldn't have left you alone just yet."

Steve shook his head. No, Danny didn't understand. He didn't just fall, he didn't… "I…" he began, the terrible pictures still flooding his mind. "I remembered, Danny. I remembered everything."

For three months after waking up he wished this day would come. The day he'd remember his past life and what had happened. But now, he wished he never would.


	16. Chapter 16

_I remembered, Danny. I remembered everything._

The panic and pain in those words made Danny's blood run cold.

He'd been expecting those words for months. Yet, instead of great relief, he thought he'd feel, Danny was terrified, cradling Steve's trembling body in his arms, gently running his hand up and down Steve's back while his friend's tears were wetting his shirt.

"Shh. It's okay. I've got you," he whispered, holding Steve close. "I've got you, buddy."

Doing his best to comfort his friend, Danny tried to calm his own frantic heartbeat at the same time. Time stood still for a moment when he found Steve on the floor, the image sending his heart into panic mode. At first, he thought Steve got some kind of seizure, or that he'd fallen and got hurt. But it was Steve's memory that caused this breakdown, not his physical state.

Danny looked around and noticed one of the family pictures laying on the floor. His chest tightened. It was one of the pictures that got broken during the night his children got kidnapped and Steve shot. It was the exact same picture he'd found on the floor next to Steve that night. Steve's reaction could only mean he remembered the last moments before passing out and Danny felt sorry for him to go through that again. Like the first time wasn't bad enough.

But he couldn't stop a pressing question from wandering his mind. When Steve said he remembered everything, did he really mean… _everything?_

Danny gave him a few more seconds, sitting there in silence until Steve's tears dried off. Steve kept his head buried in Danny's chest, but he didn't mind. He couldn't keep himself from asking any longer, though. "Do you remember me?" Danny asked, his words so soft he wasn't even sure Steve could hear him.

Steve looked bewildered, as if he'd woken up from a really bad dream. "I… I think so," he said.

Danny's face lit up in an expression of sheer relief. He'd almost stopped hoping this day would come.

"I'm sorry, Danny," Steve kept mumbling, his voice growing quieter until it was a mere whisper. "Sorry. So sorry."

Danny tightened his hold, his heart aching for his best friend. Had he known Steve would be triggered by something like that, he wouldn't have left him alone, nor he'd keep the picture on the wall. But it was too late to think about that. Now he had to deal with the situation as it was.

"It's all right," Danny assured him. "It's all right. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Steve shook his head frantically. "No, it's not all right. They… they took them. Grace and Charlie. They took them. I… I let them get away. I didn't..."

"Grace and Charlie are safe. They're fine." Danny kept his arm around Steve's shoulders, watching him intently. "I got them back, all right? Nothing happened." He wouldn't call it nothing, but compared to all the terrible scenarios that could've happened, a few bruises and psychological trauma weren't nearly as bad. And Steve didn't need to hear the details. Not yet.

"It's my fault. I let them get away," Steve repeated.

"No. No, you didn't. You did your best, all right? You tried to stop them."

But Steve didn't seem to be listening at all. He just kept mumbling how sorry he was, kept breaking Danny's heart. He'd never seen Steve so frail and vulnerable, reminding more of a distressed toddler than a Navy SEAL.

"Hey. Look at me!" Deciding enough was enough, Danny grabbed Steve's chin and gently lifted his head, forcing him to look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Steve. But my kids are safe and you are alive and back on your feet. I don't care about anything else, okay?"

"But-"

"No," Danny cut him off. "No 'but'. There were eight of them, Steve. _Eight_. Not even you could handle that many and protect my kids at the same time. You've done everything in your power to stop them."

Steve lowered his eyes. "But it wasn't enough. I…. I failed them. I failed you."

Danny shook his head in disbelief. "Steve, you gave your life for them. How could anyone ask for more?" He took a deep breath, trying to keep his jagged emotions under control. "You… You've died. Your heart stopped beating, all right? You didn't fail anyone. I did. Because I wasn't here for any of you, yet I was the reason they were after my kids, the reason why you've lost five months of your life."

"But you were here when… when I… when…" Danny could see Steve's brain working overtime, his eyes wide and breaths coming fast as he tried to piece everything together.

"Come on," Danny added when Steve didn't say anything else and stopped apologizing finally. "Let's get you up, okay?"

Steve nodded and Danny helped him on his feet, not letting go of Steve's back until he was sure he was sitting safely on the couch.

"Better?" Danny asked.

Steve looked up at him. "They're okay?" he asked instead of answering the question. "Grace and Charlie. They… they've been in a hospital with you. They're okay. Right?"

"They're okay," Danny confirmed and watched Steve's composure return slowly. "Are you?"

It took a moment for Steve to answer. "Better."

"Good. You… uh, do you remember something else besides that day?"

Steve frowned and stared into space, as though trying to concentrate. "I think… I think I remember stuff. Not sure. It's all so… unclear."

Danny's lips curled into a slight smile. "It's okay. Don't stress yourself out, all right? Take your time."

"Okay," Steve mumbled. His eyelids fluttered, and he let out an exhausted sigh.

"Shall we go?"

"Can we go back to hospital first?" Steve asked and after noticing Danny's confused frown, he added, "I think I forgot to take my card. I want it."

"What card?"

Steve met Danny's gaze. "My birthday card. The one from Charlie. You know, the one with the ocean and sharks. I didn't see it when I was packing my stuff."

Danny's jaw dropped. How could Steve remember the card? He was still totally out of it when Charlie made him a birthday wish. There was only one explanation. "You… you heard me?"

Hesitantly, Steve nodded. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I? Charlie said I was on it too. On the boat. But I haven't seen it. Someone must've taken it. I want it back."

Danny didn't know what to say. First of all, he was stunned Steve heard them in his coma and remembered such a thing like a gift from Charlie, including the details. But Steve didn't seem to find it odd at all that he knew about it, as though it was no different to their usual chat. And finally, why would he remember such a thing now? What did it have to do with anything right now? Danny had no idea. Danny wasn't even sure which one of the two of them was more confused. The human mind was a fascinating thing.

"I took it," he said eventually. "It's at your place already."

Steve nodded and stifled a yawn. "Ah. All right."

A confused frown disappeared from Danny's face. It wasn't a good time to analyze the reason why Steve wanted his card right now. His friend must've been exhausted after the ride from the hospital and remembering such a traumatic event. "Let's go, buddy. I think Eddie knows you're supposed to come home. He's been acting weird and waiting by the door since the morning. I'm sure he can't wait to see you."

"Eddie?"

"Yes, Eddie. Cute, smart, brown, four legs, puppy eyes."

Steve fished in his memory for a second, then nodded hesitantly. "I think I remember Eddie."

Danny flashed Steve a smile. "You feeling good?" He scanned Steve's face, searching for the remaining signs of the panic, but besides the exhaustion in his eyes, he seemed all right.

"Yeah," Steve confirmed, his voice still shaky. "I'm fine."

_Sure you are,_ Danny thought. "All right, let's go then."

Before Danny had a chance to offer Steve a hand, his friend was already half-standing. Not wanting to make Steve feel like he couldn't handle it on his own, Danny didn't try and help him out, but walked just a step behind him in case he needed some assistance.

And he was glad he did, because as soon as Steve stepped out of the house, he wobbled, and his knees gave out just a second later. Danny was ready, though, catching Steve just in time.

"Sorry," Steve slurred.

A scream was building inside Danny when he heard the pointless apology again. He kept his voice calm and soft, though. "It's all right, babe. You're just tired. Let's get you home, all right?"

Danny practically had to carry Steve towards the car. Only when Steve was safely in the passenger seat, did Danny relax a little. When he sat behind the wheel, he was about to say something to Steve, but Steve was already passed out in his seat.

Danny gave him one more glance and put the car into gear.

* * *

_**1 week later** _

Danny started awake, his t-shirt soaked in sweat. It took him a few seconds to realize where was he, and more importantly, that his family was safe. He wiped the cold sweat off his face and stood up, heading to the kitchen to make coffee.

Wondering if the nightmares will ever stop, Danny turned the coffee machine on and left for a shower. It was the same nightmare like every night since Haynes' people invaded his home and tried to tear apart the most important thing in his life. The same horror of his kids dropping dead right in front of him and Steve never waking up from a dreamless sleep.

He let the hot water and steam to wash away all those horrors, reminding himself it wasn't real. Charlie and Grace were safe at home with Rachel, and although still struggling with some memories, Steve was alive and on a good way to full recovery.

Just a bad dream. Nothing else.

It was hard to dream about something else than one of the worst days of his life, given that it was all he was thinking about before he fell asleep. Every day there was guilt gnawing at him, eating him alive slowly, even though he knew it was over. But was it, really?

Charlie shook it off pretty quickly, which Danny guessed was because of his young age. After all, Grace had been kidnapped around the same age and it didn't take long before her life returned back to normal. This time, it was different, though. Her therapy sessions were now taking place only once a week, and they were working wonders, but Danny couldn't miss the fact the traumatic experience changed his daughter a little. Steve's condition didn't add to her well-being either. And seeing Steve's everyday struggle made his heart bleed. Even more, knowing Steve was just Haynes' collateral damage in his vendetta against Danny.

"Hey."

Danny startled. Working on autopilot, just like in the past five months, he didn't even realize how he'd made it back to the kitchen. The coffee was already poured in two mugs, an honestly, he had no idea if it was him or Steve who had done that.

Steve furrowed his brows. "You okay?"

"What are you doing down here?" Danny said, ignoring the question. "I thought we agreed you'd call me if you want to go downstairs. What if something happened to you?"

Steve stared at him wide-eyed. "I called you. Three times in about fifteen minutes. Then I gave up and went myself. It took about ten minutes, but I'm here. Nothing has happened."

Danny froze. It couldn't possibly take him half an hour to take a shower, could it? He must've been in the kitchen when Steve called out. How did he not hear his friend whose door was kept open for the sole purpose of being able to call Danny anytime? How could he be so careless he didn't notice that Steve needed his help?

Nothing has happened. But it could've.

"I'm sorry," Danny said, reaching for his mug. "I… I was in a shower."

Steve's hand on his arm stopped him and made him look up to meet his gaze. "What's wrong, Danny?"

This wasn't right. Steve wasn't supposed to be worried about him. He was the one who-

"Danny?" Steve repeated, his voice more urgent this time. "Talk to me."

Danny sighed in defeat and leaned against the counter. "I don't sleep much," he began after a moment.

"I can see that," Steve said.

Was it that obvious?

"Would you mind if we move this conversation to the couch?" Steve asked. Danny noticed Steve was holding on to the kitchen counter for support and swore himself silently for not noticing earlier. "It was quite a hike."

Danny let Steve to lead the way, forcing himself to focus in case Steve needed his assistance. But it seemed Steve was doing just fine, taking it slowly step by step, not letting out a word of complaints. Steve released a shaky breath in relief as he lowered himself down and signaled Danny to sit down. He complied, looking for the words to describe what the problem was. He didn't need to explain what had happened, not anymore. He'd told Steve the whole story a few days ago. But he hadn't told him that even after five months, he still had nightmares robbing him of his sleep.

His stomach cramped as a terrible memory flickered in his mind again: Steve sprawled on the floor at Danny's house, blood pooling around him, the terrible silence as an answer to Danny's desperate calls for Grace and Charlie. How could he ever get that image out of his head? Or the one when guns were trained at the most precious people in his life out in the woods? He was so close to losing everything good in his life, all just because he was doing his job. Maybe Rachel had been right years ago. Maybe he should've just walked away from such a career.

Sitting there in silence, Steve waited patiently for Danny to speak in his own time.

"I keep having the same dream," he croaked finally and met Steve's eyes. "The one where you die. All of you. And I'm just watching, unable to do anything about it."

Steve didn't say anything, probably sensing there was more.

"I thought it'd get better, you know? When you woke up, and the kids were feeling better. But then you didn't remember us and… and you couldn't even walk and all I could think about was how all that was my fault."

"Danny, we've talked about this already."

Danny shook his head. "Yeah, I know. And you're blaming that on you, which is ridiculous, by the way. Because Haynes would've never do any of that had I not shot his son, and sent another one to jail."

"You were just-"

"Doing my job, I know," Danny didn't back off. "And that almost cost both my kids and you your lives. I thought I've lost you all."

After a few seconds of silence, Steve spoke in a soft voice, "But you didn't. We're okay. And you couldn't have known something like that was going to happen. So don't blame yourself."

Danny scoffed at that, totally unconvinced.

"There's more, right?" Steve asked with a gaze reaching deep into Danny's soul. "I know you're tired, buddy. I can't ask you to babysit me 24/7. You've done more than enough already. I know you think you owe me that much, but you don't. You need to take care of yourself, okay? I'm fine. I can handle myself now."

It was nice to see most of Steve's personality back, but there was no way he'd leave him alone just yet. Even after all this time he was frail, constantly tired, and needed assistance with some tasks, even though he wouldn't admit it out loud. And Danny was actually glad Steve trusted him enough to let him stay and help. His fault or not, he wanted to be the one to help. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"I don't stick around because I have to, Steve," Danny said. "I want to."

"I'm not asking you to leave," Steve protested, staring at Danny intently. "I'm just saying you can take it down a notch, maybe. You need your rest too. If I need your help, I'll ask for it, okay?"

Unable to stop himself, Danny let out a choked laugh. "You'll ask for help? You haven't done that even without your memory, let alone with it."

Steve frowned. "I know. But I will from now on when necessary. If you promise to take care of yourself too."

Steve was right, he needed to take care of himself too. Besides, he was no use to anyone if he was a walking zombie. "Okay," he agreed.

It earned him a wry smile from his best friend. "Okay. We should probably eat something, finish the coffee and head to the doctor so we're back on time."

Right. Steve's follow-up appointment. "Yeah, we should."

"What time did Grace say they'd come?" Steve asked, his face lighting up just with the thought of Danny's kids spending the weekend with them.

"Rachel will bring them around ten."

"Did you tell them?"

"Tell them what?"

"That… that I remember."

Danny shook his head. "Charlie was already thinking so for a while. But I wanted you to be the one to tell Grace."

"Thanks," Steve said, his voice mirroring how grateful he was for that. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like some eggs and bacon, please."

"I thought I was supposed to take it down a notch," Danny teased, his lips curling upwards.

"And I said I'd tell you if I need something from you," Steve said playfully. "And right now, I'm hungry."

"Sure you are," Danny said, standing up.

"Oh, and don't burn the eggs, please," Steve added and lifted his feet up, settling himself on the couch comfortably. "I hate when you do that."

"Unbelievable." Danny shook his head and headed to the kitchen.

"Hey, at least I'm not asking for chocolate chip pancakes. Just simple eggs." Steve's voice carried from behind his back as he opened the fridge.

Danny's lips curled into a grin. He'd make those pancakes for Steve every morning if it made his friend happy. Because no words could express how grateful Danny was for having him back.


	17. Chapter 17

Steve has been sitting at the passenger's seat of Danny's car in silence since they've left the hospital. Staring into blank space, he barely noticed Danny had pulled up in front of Danny's house. They agreed it'll be more convenient for the kids, considering the sleeping arrangements. But even though he was looking forward to seeing Grace and Charlie again, the morning appointment with the doctor had ruined his mood completely. The things the doctor had said didn't please him at all.

"You wanna talk about it?" Danny asked, his voice soft.

Steve shook his head, reaching for the door handle, ready to get out of the car. But Danny's hand on his wrist stopped him. He turned around to find Danny's gaze locked on him.

"Steve…"

"I said I don't want to talk about it, Danny," Steve snapped, instantly regretting it. Danny wasn't the one to blame, and directing his anger at him was just wrong. "Sorry," he added instantly, dropping his gaze.

Danny nodded, letting out a sigh. "Okay," he said and got out of the car.

Steve followed suit and let Eddie out too, then walked toward the doorway, silently waiting for Danny to unlock it.

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay at your place?" Danny asked.

No, he wasn't sure. Not after the experience from the previous week. The urge to flee swelled in his mind, but he had to face it sooner or later. It was just a house. His best friend's house. "I'll be fine."

After settling himself comfortably in Danny's living room, Steve barely nodded when Danny asked if he wanted coffee. His mind whirled as he thought about this morning. He knew all along there might be permanent damage after his coma, but his recovery was going well - or at least he thought so - so the doctor's words kind of caught him off guard.

"Here." Danny put a cup of hot brew on the table in front of Steve and sat beside him.

"Thanks," Steve mumbled, his gaze fixed on his feet. But in the corner of his eye, Steve didn't miss Danny's intense glare.

"You know, he also said you might never wake up," Danny said after about a minute of complete silence. "And here you are, sitting in my living room." Steve didn't reply, but that didn't discourage Danny from continuing. "Then he said you might not be the same, that you might not be able to talk or walk again. And look at you now."

Steve closed his eyes, thinking about the doctor's answer when he'd asked when he'd be able to return to work. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers, then lifted his head up. "This is different," he said in a grave tone.

"No, it's not," Danny opposed. "Once again he said you can't do something. You've proved him wrong before, you can do it again."

"But you've heard the doctor, Danny. He said-"

"Since when do you, of all people, care what does any doctor have to say?" Danny interrupted him. Sure, Steve's reactions were slow sometimes, he got tired way too easily, and his memory wasn't in the best shape, but it's only been three months since Steve had woken up. Dr. Jensen wasn't the most optimistic person around and watching Steve's reaction, Danny hated that fact more than ever before.

Steve didn't answer, but looked at Danny with a focused expression on his face. Was he fishing in his memory again? It wouldn't be the first time Steve wasn't sure about what was he supposed to be like.

But it didn't matter to Danny. If Steve couldn't remember some part of himself, he could decide what was he like all over again and Danny was sure it'd be the right decision. And even if not, it wouldn't make Danny love him any less.

"Look, I appreciate what the guy had done for you, okay? He's good at his job. But he doesn't know you," Danny said, holding Steve's gaze. "Memories back or not, you're still a fighter, Steve. It might take months or years, but you'll get back to normal again, okay?"

"You can't know that, Danny. Besides, I'm not getting any younger. I don't have years to figure out how to run a mile or how to hit the target when I pull the trigger. I barely learned how to walk again and it took months." The sadness in Steve's eyes made Danny's heart bleed. "What if I missed, or didn't run fast enough, or made some other mistake and you'd get hurt… or worse? How can I ever have your back again?"

Danny glared at him for a moment. Steve had a point. He couldn't do this kind of a job for much longer anyway, and the two-months in a coma took way too much from him. It was entirely possible for Steve to get back to normal - well, maybe not a super SEAL kind of normal - but it'd take a long time.

"You won't need to have my back," Danny said eventually, earning himself a confused frown. "You know, I've been thinking about it since that night, and I decided it's time to retire."

"Retire?" Steve repeated, his eyes wide in surprise. "I thought you've changed your mind after our attempt with the restaurant. What are you even gonna do? Start ticking off the things from your to-do list?"

Danny shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. But this… this whole thing with Haynes made me think about my career and… don't get me wrong, I don't regret being a cop. But I've lost a lot because of that, and when it nearly cost me the lives of my children and you…" He shook his head, trying to get his breaking voice under control. "It made me reconsider my retirement."

After a few seconds of staring in silence, Steve nodded. "Okay, I get it."

"So maybe… uh, maybe we could retire together?" Danny suggested hesitantly. "You could focus on getting better and no one would be shooting at us."

Steve dropped his gaze and released a sigh. "It's not like I have a choice, do I?"

This new kind of negative attitude and a slight depression were the side effects of Steve's coma that Danny hated the most. But he wouldn't let it defeat his best friend. "You always have a choice, buddy," he said. "But we've done this for quite a while, maybe we both deserve to grow old drinking beer on a beach. Just think about it, okay? "

"I will."

* * *

A loud knock on the door woke Steve up. He didn't even realize he'd dozed off on Danny's couch despite drinking coffee just a while ago. He yawned and willed his body to sit up. Gathering more strength to stand up and look more alive for the sake of Grace and Charlie, he listened to the voices by the door. He could recognize Rachel's voice amongst the others. He made a mental note to ask Danny what had happened between the two of them later.

By the time Steve managed to stand up and shuffle to the door, there were only Grace and Charlie staring at him as Danny closed the door. Judging by Charlie's lit up face when he noticed Steve, the boy had no idea Steve didn't really remember him until about a week ago.

"Hi, uncle Steve!"

"Hey, big guy," Steve said, smiling as Charlie rushed toward him to greet him with a hug. He ruffled the boy's hair, soaking in the love of that embrace, a warm feeling spreading through his chest.

Charlie let go and looked up at him. "Did you bring Eddie with you?"

"Sure. He is sniffing around somewhere. You just have to find him."

Charlie gave him an excited smile and rushed away, too impatient to play with the dog.

Steve watched him run off and turned to Grace, who was just greeted by Danny.

She gave him a hesitant smile. "Hi."

In two big steps, Steve closed the space between them and pulled her into a hug so tight, it surprised even him. "Hi, Gracie," he whispered, his voice at the point of breaking. The last time he'd seen her - not counting the period of total blankness - she had killed a man and willingly walked away with her kidnappers, both just to save his life, and he thought he'd never see her again.

At first, Grace was stiff, as though surprised by so much sudden affection, but then she wrapped her arms around Steve's back and whispered, "Uncle Steve?"

Steve's reply was even tighter hold, as though he was afraid she'd slip away and disappear again if he let go. It was enough of a confirmation for Grace to realize Steve knew exactly who she was.

"You… you remember me, right?" Her voice was quiet and a little shaky.

"I do," Steve confirmed.

Grace tightened her embrace too. "I missed you so much, uncle Steve," she croaked, burying her head into Steve's chest.

Steve could feel tears forming in the back of his eyes. The memory of Grace being led away from him surfaced on his mind, reviving the guilt for not being able to protect her and her brother. For causing her even more pain by being in a coma and not remembering her afterward. "I'm sorry, Grace," he breathed. "For everything."

She pulled away to look into Steve's eyes and flashed him the warmest of smiles. "Don't be. I'm just glad you're back."

Holding her gaze, Steve grabbed both of her shoulders gently, but firmly. "Grace, don't you ever, ever, risk your life for mine again, okay? I'd rather die than let anything happen to you and Charlie," he confessed.

Grace's gaze flicked to Danny for a brief moment before looking back at Steve, "I'm sorry, uncle Steve. I just didn't want you to die."

"I know, Gracie," Steve said, smiling at how much she reminded him of Danny. "You're the bravest kid I know. And I can't possibly thank you enough for saving my life. Just don't ever do that again, please."

Grace nodded and Steve let go of her, basking in the love and joy radiating from her look.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Danny chimed in. "Would you like to go out? Or maybe I can cook some lunch and we can watch a movie or something?"

Steve could feel the exhaustion gnawing at him just with the thought of going somewhere else today. Maybe he could take a nap while Danny took the kids out.

"Let's stay inside," Grace said and Steve caught her brief glance, suggesting it was a decision based on Steve's current abilities.

As much as Steve appreciated her concern, he didn't want them to stay just because of him. "You can go," he said. "I'll be fine here."

"I know." Grace flicked her gaze toward him. "But we want to be with you too."

"She's right. It's a family weekend after all," Danny added. "So you guys pick a movie and I'll start cooking."

Thankful he was a part of this family, Steve settled himself on the couch again, wondering how on the Earth he deserved people like them in his life. Maybe retiring with Danny wasn't such a bad idea after all. Not if it meant spending more time with the people he loved.

* * *

At the end of the day, Danny got out of the shower and headed back to the living room to join his kids and Steve again, but stopped in the doorway. Charlie was curled up on the couch with Eddie, asleep, a blanket thrown over him. Next to him there was Grace, turned to the armchair where Steve was sitting with a serious face.

Danny knew Steve and Grace needed each other right now more than ever. That they needed to talk. And judging by the expression on Steve's face, that's exactly what they've been doing. The night Haynes' hired guns kidnapped Grace and Charlie was a traumatic experience for everyone, but the way the two of them were separated was heartbreaking and hardly imaginable. No wonder they needed each other to heal.

They didn't seem to notice him, so he kept standing there, listening.

"Do you remember what we talked about that evening?"

Grace's question was met with a moment of thoughtful silence before Steve answered. "Making the world a better place."

"That's right," Grace said. "I told you I wanted to make the world a better place, like you and Danno do. To be like a Wonder Woman. But when you were… asleep, I had time to think and I realized there are different kinds of heroes and different ways of doing good."

That seemed to pique Steve's curiosity.

"I've spent enough time with you to observe what all the nurses and doctors were doing to bring you back," Grace continued. "And when they finally did, I realized they were heroes too. That they make the word a better place in a different way."

"Are you saying you don't want to be a cop anymore?" Steve asked.

"It's too dangerous and I admire everyone protecting the rest of us like that, but I decided I want to save lives in a different way. I want to be a doctor."

Danny's heart swelled with pride.

"That's amazing, Grace!" Steve said, barely containing the excitement in his voice. "You're such a smart girl. See, unlike a cop idea, this is something we can actually tell Danno. He'll be proud of you, kid."

Unable to stand there in silence for any longer, Danny spoke up. "I am proud already," he said and watched Grace turn her head in his direction. "But having a doctor in the family wouldn't hurt. Especially around such a trouble magnet like your uncle."

"Hey, I'm right here," Steve spoke up.

Grace just giggled at that. "I'll head to the bed," she announced and stood up. "I love you, Danno. Love you, uncle Steve. Good night."

"Good night, monkey," Danny said and watched her walk upstairs. He turned back just in time to notice Steve's yawn. "It was a long day," he said.

"But worth it," Steve said, rubbing his eyes. "Thanks for letting me be here with all of you."

Danny furrowed his brows. "You don't have to thank me for that, Steve."

"I do. You know, I wasn't sure if the kids would ever feel safe again with me. Or if you'd let me spend time with them after… you know."

Danny kept staring at him in silence. Why couldn't Steve understand they all loved him the same as before?

"I thought…" Steve paused, looking for words. "I thought you'll never trust me enough again." His eyes met Danny's.

Danny shook his head in disbelief. "There's no one else I trust more with the life of my children than you, buddy," he said matter-of-factly.

"Even after-"

"Yes." Danny didn't even let Steve finish the sentence. "Always."

Steve stifled another yawn and Danny took it as a cue. "Get some sleep, buddy," he said and reached for Charlie, who was still sound asleep. Picking his son up, Danny groaned. The boy was really getting too big for this, but Danny didn't want to wake him up. With Charlie in his arms, he turned to Steve again. "Are you gonna be okay down here?" he asked, worried it might wake up the bad memories.

"It's just a house, Danny," Steve answered, but to Danny, it seemed more like Steve tried to persuade himself, not him. "I'll be fine."

Danny nodded. "You know where to find me if you need me."

"Yeah. Good night."

"Good night."

Danny was halfway up the stairway when he heard Steve's voice.

"Danno?"

He turned around, careful not to wake Charlie up.

"Thanks," Steve said with a warm smile on his face. But his eyes said so much more than that one word.

Danny returned the smile. "You're welcome, buddy. I love you."

"Love you too," Steve said and covered himself with a blanket.

Danny huffed under the weight of Charlie as he walked up the rest of the stairs. Carefully, he brought Charlie to his bed and brushed a light kiss on his forehead. "I love you, Charlie. Sweet dreams," he said and headed to his bedroom.

He stopped in the corridor, images of what had happened to his family at that very spot coursing through his mind. Taking a deep breath, he forced them into the back of his skull. It was a rough couple of months and there were more to come. It wasn't over yet. But they were all safe. Together. And nothing else mattered. Nothing at all.

For the first time in months, he was feeling whole. For the first time in months, he had his whole family back. Really back. Some things might never be the same as before for any of them, but they'd get over it.

Thinking back about their day together, the uncertain future looming over Danny and his family suddenly didn't seem as scary. Because no matter what obstacle the life will bring, as long as they'll be all together, they'll be unstoppable.


End file.
